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•3''^^/i, 



THE REAL BRYAN 



BEING EXTRACTS FROM THE SPEECHES 
AND WRITINGS OF 

"A WELL-ROUNDED MAN" 



They ca.U a man a statesman 'whose ear is tuned to 
catch the slightest pulsation of a pocket-book, and 
denounce as a dem.agogue anyone 'who dares listen to 
ifie heart-beat of humanity. — W. J. Bryan. 



COMPILED BY 

RICHARD L. METCALFE 



PERSONAL HELP PUBLISHING COMPANY 

DES MOINES, IOWA 

1908 



|u8RARYofOONGS£S3 
5 Two Copies rtecewco 

JUN 1 1908 

^ JOi-'Y tj. 



1^0? \ 






Copyright. 1908, 
By Personal Help Publishing Co. 



QS:.0tttent& 



A Badge of Shame 

A Central Bank . , 

A Child's Influence 

"A Dream in Marble" . 

A Far-Reaching 'Platform 

A High Purpose 

A Living Fountain 

American Foreign Missions 

Americanism . . . 

American Money Abroad 

American Philanthropy 

America's Mission 

Anarchy .... 

"Ask the Mother" 

A World Power 

Before the Economic Club, New 

Before the Irish Club 

Business Honor 

Campaign Contributions 

Capital and Labor 

Employer and Employee 
Arbitration . 

Labor and "Property Rights 
Representation in the Cabinet 
Their Share in Prosperity 
Education and the Laboring 
Government by Injunction 

Chinese Exclusion 

Civilization 

Class Hatred 

Confucianism 

Conscience . . . 

Coronation of a King 

Criminal Speculation . 

Death .... 

Defeat .... 

3 



York 



Man 



PAGE 

114 

138 

124 

121 

23 

48' 

86 

174 

34 

84 

44 

181 

140 

31 

36 

275 

199 

45 

162 

212 

212 

215 

216 

217 

218 

219 

220 

171 

32 

25 

67 

183 

43 

95 

71 

34 



CONTENTS 



Democracy 

Destiny . . . . 

Development of the Individual 

Doctrine of Election . 

Dreamers .... 

Duty of Superior Nations 

Education 

Election of United States Senators 

Enforcing the Law 

Faith .... 

Force .... 

Foreign Relations 

Entangling Alliances 

The Monroe Doctrine . 

Collecting Debts with Navy 
Fraternity .... 
Free Speech 
Gambling, Great and Small 

Gambling on Futures 

The Gambling Vice 

Stock Exchange Gambling 
Graft .... 

Growth of Democracy 
Guaranteed Banks 

The Plan Outlined 

"Make All Banks Equally Good 
Humanity's Search for Peace 
Imitation .... 
Immortality 
Imperialism, Militarism and Self-Gove 

Imperialism . 

Colonialism 

Self-Government . 

Liberty 

Militarism 

Cubans and Filipinos 
Income Tax 

Individualism vs. Socialism 
In the Philippines 
Jerusalem .... 
Love's Festival . 
"Loyalty to the Money Bag" 
Majestic Nature 
Man's Limitations 
Markham's Tribute to Lincoln 
Miracles .... 
Misrepresenting the Democrat 



rnment 



CONTENTS 



Money and Banking . 

Wall Street and the Treasury 

An Attribute of Sovereignty 

Asset Currency 
Motherhood 

Oratory .... 
Patriotism 

Paying What We Owe 
Peace ..... 
Pensions 

Plutocracy .... 
Presidential Nomination 
Protecting Property Rights 
V Purity in Politics 
Real Greatness 
Religious Liberty 
Revenge .... 
Secret Influence 
"Sermons in Stones" . 
Service .... 

Socialism .... 
Statd .and Nation 

The Dual Scheme 

Advantages of the Dual System 

Influence of the State . 

Jefferson's Reasons 

Sphere of the State 
Swollen Fortunes 
Tarifa . ... 

Thanksgiving . . 
The Ballot .... 
The Buzzard and the Bee 
The Children's Legacy 
The Dignity of Labor 
The Doctrines of the Nazarene 
The Efficacy of Example 
The First Voter 
The Flag . . . . 
The Greater Man and Nation 
The Ideal Republic 
The Law of Rewards 
The Mount of Beatitudes . 
The Mysteries of Nature . 
The Paramount Issue 
The Presidency . 
The Real Defenders of Property 
The Scholar in Government 



CONTENTS 



The Secret of Life 

The Spring as an Illustration 

The Tariff 

"Fat Frying" 

Two Arguments . 

The Great Home Industry 

Business and the Tariff 

That Tariff Commission 
The Tomb of Napoleon 
The Twenty-tlii'rd Psalm . 
The Vice-Pre*sidency . 
The Wise Age . 
"Thou Shalt Not Steal" 
Three Kind^ of Government 
Tolstoy • . 

Tribute to Jefferson . . 
Trusts, Corporations and Railroad Regulation 

"Good and Bad" Trusts 

Railroad Regulation 

Corporations 

Trusts 

Private Monopoly 
Two Systems 
Union 

Valuable Assets . 
War . . 

"What is the Explanation of Bryan" . 
Wm. J. Bryan— A Well-Rounded Man 
Winning by Justice .... 




gov^xxtovh 



It is not possible in so small a volume as 
this to quote, from Mr. Bryan's speeches, all 
of the paragraphs that are entitled to rank as 
eloquent and instructive. The selections have 
been made with the view of showing the 
wide range taken by Nebraska's distinguished 
citizen in his public addresses ; and showing, 
also, that the same high ideals controlling his 
political conduct rule in other affairs of life. 

If, through the perusal of this little vol- 
ume, those men and women who have been 
taught false notions concerning Mr. Bryan, 
learn that he is a true and manly man who 
believes that the gifts with which Nature has 
endowed him are veritable commands to 
render service to his fellows, then they will 
know *^the real Bryan;" then they will know 
him even as he is known by every Nebraska 
neighbor who has had the advantage of 
intimate acquaintance with the man. 

R. L. M. 



^*plhat 10 t\xe Explanation of gr^an?** 

''Will some one please stand up and explain this 
man Bryan — the Phoenix who arises from the ashes 
of defeat stronger, better loved than ever?" This ques- 
tion was asked by a Pittsburg, Pa., man in a letter 
printed in the Christian Union Herald. This man 
had seen (to use his own language) "a wonderful 
thing come to pass.'^ He had seen William J. Bryan 
''flouted by us easterners as a wild-eyed disturber of 
the peace" entering Pittsburg, "a city which gave the 
biggest comparative majority against him of all cities 
in the nation and greeted by an enormous crowd with 
an attention £ind enthusiasm that passeth description, 
holding them under spell of his marvelous eloquence 
for more than two long mortal hours and sending 
them away cheering — and thinking." 

"All this, mark you," said the Pittsburg man, "in 
the city of Pittsburg — intensely republican, 'conserva- 
tive,' tariff -loving Pittsburg! — the stronghold and 
center alike of his democratic and republican enemies 1 
If this can occur in Pittsburg, what must be his hold, 
upon the people in communities where the what-is-is- 
right doctrine is not revered as here!" 

From these scenes the Pittsburg man turned and in 
utter perplexity asked, "What is the explanation of 
Brvan?" 



10 THE REAL BRYAN 

^'What is the explanation of Bryan?" asked the Pitts- 
burg man and then he added: ''A magazine writer 
attempted recently to explain him, but when the article 
was finished all he had proved was that Bryan has 
made a few honest dollars out of his political career, 
though the writer did not sufficiently emphasize the 
phenomenon that a political career has at last resulted 
in an honest if comparatively small fortune. Bigger 
fortunes than Bryan's have been made through politi- 
cal careers before now, but we are never tempted to 
describe them as 'honest/ " 

''What is the explanation of Bryan?" asked the 
Pittsburg man. "Is it his honesty? There are many 
honest men in the nation who have not his wonderful 
hold on the hearts of the people. Is it his intellect? 
His is not the most powerful intellect in the nation, 
strong though it is. 

"Is it his eloquence? We are still under the spell 
of his incomparable voice, cutting wit and forceful 
sentences, but we know that his eloquence does not 
explain him. 

'Ts it the romantic quality of the career that began 
when the editor, just returned from reporting the con- 
vention w^hich nominated his opponent, seizing the 
dramatic, critical moment, thrilled several hundred men 
into nominating an obscure lawyer and writer to the 
highest office in the land? Hardly!" 

Nor in the opinion of this Pittsburger is the expla- 
nation to be found in the combination of all four of 
the suggested explanations — honesty, intellect, elo- 
quence and the romantic quality of career. For, in 



THE REAL BRYAN 11 

the opinion of this writer, 'The combination could 
never have brought about the event described above 
in Scotch-Irish, conservative Pittsburg. We have 
watched and studied Pittsburg's political audiences for 
several years and we have never seen the like of that 
which greeted Bryan. No rabble, but a fine body of 
representative, thoughtful men; not merely curious, 
but attentive, wath an earnest attention that was not 
disturbed by the magnetic attraction of his personality. 
They listened as men listen who have confidence in 
their speaker, in his sincerity and in his knowledge 
and in his truthfulness." 

Sometimes the things for which we dig are to be 
found upon the surface. When the Pittsburg man 
said that his neighbors listened to Mr. Bryan ''as men 
listen who have confidence in their speaker, in his 
sincerity and in his knowledge and in his truthful- 
ness," he may have given the answer to his own ques- 
tion. 

If, however, the Pittsburg writer yet finds it difficult 
to understand ^'what is the explanation of Bryan," he 
might approach the solution of the problem with 
higher hopes for results if he freed himself from some 
of the newspaper-made misconceptions concerning Mr. 
Bryan's career. It is hardly fair to say that when 
Mr. Bryan was nominated for the presidency in 1896, 
he was "an obscure lawyer and writer." Six years 
before his nomination for the presidency he had been 
nominated by the democrats as a candidate for con- 
gres.s in what seemed to be a hopelessly republican dis- 
trict. In 1888 the republican candidate had carried 



12 THE REAL BRYAN 

that district by a large plurality. In 1890 Mr. Bryan 
carried that district by 6,700 plurality, although he 
had a populist opponent who received 13,066 votes. 
I think it is admitted in Nebraska that this result was 
largely due to the fact that ^Ir. Bryan and his oppo- 
nent engaged in a joint debate. While the republican 
candidate was an able and resourceful lawyer and had 
committed himself to some of the reforms then growing 
in popular favor, Mr. Bryan plainly won the honors 
in a debate noted alike for its vigor and good humor. 

In 1892 Mr. Bryan was re-elected, although his con- 
gressional district had been rearranged leaving it com- 
posed largely of republican counties. 

During his first term— on March 16, 1892— Mr. 
Bryan made his great tariff speech in the House of 
Representatives. And on that occasion — as will here- 
after be shown by witnesses that may not be said to be 
partisans of the Nebraskan — he became a national 
figure. Those who had the privilege of hearing that 
speech will not forget it; nor will they fail to re- 
member the stirring scenes enacted at its close. Bryan 
began his address at 2 :30 o'clock in the afternoon 
and closed at 5 :30. 

Over the report of that speech the New York World 
carried the following headlines: 

''Bryan Downed Them All." 

''Nebraska's Young Congressman Scores a Triumph 
in the House." 

"His Maiden Speech a Brilliant Plea for Tariff 
Reform." 

"Mr. Raines, of New York, and Messrs. McKenna 



THE REAL BRYAN 13 

and Lind Interrupt Him with Questions and are 
Silenced by Sharp Replies." 

^ Tarty Leaders Enthusiastically Applaud the Orator, 
and His Speech is the Talk of AVashington." 

Concerning that speech I now quote from the reports 
made by the New York World, the New York Sun, the 
Washington Post, the New York Herald and the New 
York Times. 

The New York World said: ^'When Speaker Crisp 
appointed Mr. Bryan, of Nebraska, one of the com- 
mittee on Ways and Means, some criticism was made 
on the ground that he was a new member and inex- 
perienced in tariff legislation. But Mr. Bryan, today, 
in a three-hours' speech, made the biggest hit of the 
debate and confirmed the Speaker's judgment of his 
ability. No more dramatic speech has been delivered 
at this session. Mr. Bryan has the clear-cut features 
of the Randall type. He spoke without notes, and his 
baritone voice made the chamber ring. The repub- 
licans sought to take advantage of his inexperience in 
Congress by interrupting him with questions, which 
would have puzzled much older heads. But Mr. Bryan 
brightened under this friction and forced one repub- 
lican after another into his seat. Old campaigners of 
the Reed school, like Raines, of New York, and Mc- 
Kenna, of California, found the young Nebraskan 
more than their match. A lawyer by profession, Mr. 
Bryan argued his case with a dramatic directness that 
aroused not only the enthusiasm of the democrats, but 
won the applause of the galleries. When Mr. Bryan 
finished, the galleries applauded for fully five min- 



14 THE REAL BRYAN 

utes, and democrats and republicans gathered about 
him and shook his hand warmly. This speech has 
been a revelation. No new member has received such 
an ovation in years. Mr. Bryan's speech was the talk 
of the town to-night." 

The AYashington Post said: ''If, like Byron, Con- 
gressman Bryan, of Nebraska, does not wake this 
morning and find himself famous, then all the eulogies 
that were being passed on him in hotel corridors were 
meaningless. There was hardly anything else talked 
about, except the wonderfully brilliant speech of the 
young Nebraskan of the House." 

The New York Sun said : "William Jennings Bryan, 
the young democratic leader from Nebraska, whom 
Speaker Crisp placed on the Ways and Means Commit- 
tee against the protest of a large element in the House, 
distinguished himself today by making the 'star' 
speech of the present session on the tariff question. 
Mr. Bryan astonished his associates and the occupants 
of the crowded galleries by an exhibition of finished 
oratory seldom witnessed in the halls of Congress. He 
is only thirty years old, is tall and well built, with a 
clean-shaven face and jet black hair. Charley O'Neil, 
the father of the House, as he is called, says Mr. Bryan 
looks something as the late Samuel Jackson Randall 
looked twenty-five years ago. An hour was given Mr. 
Bryan to speak, but when that time elapsed there was 
a general chorus of 'Go on, go on,' from both sides of 
the House. Members lingered in their seats and the 
spectators remained in the galleries till 5:12 o'clock, 
so intent were they in hearing the young orator from 



THE EEAL BRYAN 15 

the West. Not only was he logical, but he was practi- 
cal, and won for himself a place among the House 
orators beside the silver-toned Breckinridge, of Ken- 
tuckj^, or the calm-voiced Henderson of Iowa." 

The New York Herald said : ''As Mr. Bryan took his 
seat he was the recipient of hearty congratulations 
from his party colleagues. Although this was his 
maiden speech, he showed every quality of a fine ora- 
tor. No member who has addressed the House thus 
far upon the tariff question has received the same 
attention which was accorded to the young Nebraskan." 

The New York Times said: "For most of the time 
since the tariff battle in the House began, the demo- 
crats have been attacking the republicans' position 
largely with oratorical firecrackers. Some of these ex- 
plosives made a merry crackling, but not enough of it 
fully to wake up the deliberate body, and certainly not 
enough fully to arrest the attention of many persons 
out of the House. Today, almost with the effect of an 
ambuscade, the democrats uncovered a ten-inch gun, 
and for two hours shelled the surprised enemy so 
effectively, that the protectionist batteries, at first 
manned with spirit, but supplied with very light guns, 
were silenced. Gunner Raines (republican. New York) 
coming out of the engagement with a badly-battered 
muzzle, and with the conviction, probably, that he 
would be compelled next time to put in more powder 
and employ newer and more modern projectiles. The 
man who today ceased to be a new and young unknown 
member, and jumped at once into the position of the 
best tariff speaker in ten years, was Representative 



16 THE HEAL BRYAN 

Bryan, democrat, of Nebraska. To be a representative 
from Nebraska implies a condition of revolution in 
that stat€; but it also means something more in the 
ca^e of Mr. Bryan that was not suspected before by 
those who are not familiar with his reputation at home. 
Some of the men who supported Mills were in doubt 
at the time of the caucus about his soundness gener- 
ally, as he was one of the four Springer men who stuck 
to Springer after *the last button was off his coat/ 
and when the votes of the four would have elected 
Mills instead of Crisp. After his speech of today 
there can be no doubt about where he stands on the 
tariff question. There can be no doubt about his 
power of oratory and argument, and Mr. Raines, who 
is apt at a certain shallow sort of sophistical cross- 
questioning, will probably admit that Mr. Bryan is 
able to hold his own with a veteran in the black-horse 
cavalry. For two hours and a half Mr. Bryan held 
the floor and his audience, being urged to go on after 
his hour had expired, and being inspired to still fur- 
ther continue by shouts of 'Go on,' 'Go on,' when he 
indicated a modest desire to bring his long speech to a 
close. Having a graceful figure, a little above the 
average height, Mr. Bryan is not unlike Carlisle in 
feature, but not so spare. His face is smooth shaved 
and the features are strong and well marked. His 
voice is clear and strong, his language plain but not 
lacking in grace. He uses illustrations effectively, and 
he employs humor and sarcasm with admirable facility, 
^he applause that greeted him was as spontaneous as 
it was genuine." 



THE REAL BRYAN 17 

Although Mr. Bryan's newspaper opponents have told 
the world that Nebraska has often recorded its political 
vote against him, they have not given the testimony 
that will be cheerfully borne by any reputable citizen 
of this state: That William J. Bryan has never met 
w^ith political reverses, but that he was accompanied by 
thousands of men who, having had every opportunity 
for the study of the man, trusted him implicitly and 
admired him for the philosophy with which he met 
defeat, the vigor with which he waged battle and the 
honesty with which he defended conviction. 

And these will also say that in this day Mr. Bryan 
is stronger in Nebraska than at any .other time in his 
career. He has won the way to the hearts of Nebras- 
kans — regardless of political prejudice. 

If I were asked to answer the question, '^What is 
the explanation of Bryan?" I would quote the con- 
cluding paragraph of an editorial that appeared in the 
Omaha Daily World-Herald during the closing hours 
of the congressional campaign of 1890. It was good 
then ; it is good now : 

^'Nature has gifted Mr. Bryan with a remarkable 
face — ^such a face as could be carved on a coin and not 
be out of place. He has a physical vigor which makes 
his unstudied gestures forcible and emphatic. He has 
an eye which is by turns commanding and humorous. 
And he has a voice which is equally adapted to ten- 
derness or to denunciation. All these natural gifts 
has William J. Bryan and to them is added a talent 
for research, a genius for accuracy, and a nature for 
truth. Let Nebraska congratulate herself on the fact 



18 THE REAL BRYAN 

that she has an orator who possesses the physical and 
mental qualities to make him a remarkable man in 
the history of this nation. And if the World-Herald 
reads the stars aright, the time will come when W. J. 
Bryan will have a reputation which will reach far 
beyond Nebraska — and it will be a reputation for the 
performance of good deeds." R. L. M. 



(An appreciatiQu — by John H. Ativood, Leavenworth, 
Kansas. ) 

Primarily, Mr. Bryan is a well-rounded man. Many 
who have and do fill the public eye may bear inspec- 
tion in their public aspects, while their private live^ 
are best left in the shadow. Such men are like statues 
made to be placed in niches; the front is the front of 
a statesman or philosopher, while the back is but un- 
carved ugliness. But the Nebraskan you can view 
from any side, and you always see a man, a whole man. 
Every phase of his character will sustain study, and 
nothing need be slurred over in order to find all com- 
mendable. 

I have known him well for nearly twenty years. In 
1890 he was the young country lawyer leading the 
democratic forlorn hope against Congressman Connell 
in the First Nebraska district; a forlorn hope that his 
genius transformed into a victory as splendid as it was 
unexpected. During the campaign he was a repre- 
sentative to a Modern Woodman council, where he met 
E. E. Murphy, of Leavenworth, then and now one of 
the leading democrats of Kansas. Mr. Murphy was 
greatly taken with Mr. Bryan and invited him to be a 

19 



20 THE KEAL BRYAN 

guest and speaker at the democratic dinner to be held 
that fall under the auspices of the Bandana Club of 
Leavenworth. The invitation was accepted, condi- 
tioned upon his being elected. He was elected, and 
came, and saw, and spoke and conquered, and Kansas 
has been his from that hour. My acquaintance with 
him dates from that night, and we saw each other not 
infrequently during the succeeding years. . . 

Mr. Bryan's judgment of himself is largely at vari- 
ance with that of the world. He is generally thought 
of as a kind of verbal necromancer ; and at times he is 
marvelous. But his notion as expressed to me in sub- 
stance several times, is found in what he said when we 
were together on one occasion in Kansas City : *'I don't 
consider myself eloquent as that word is ordinarily 
used. SuqIi strength as I have as a speaker lies in two 
things: The people know that I am in earnest, and 
they can understand all I say." And, while at issue 
with him as to the first part of that statement, I quite 
agree with him in the last. Read one of his speeches 
analytically, and it will at once appear that simplicity 
and clarity are its distinguishing marks. Sesquipedality 
can never be charged against his speeches. All is so 
simple that not only he who runs msij read, but the 
slowest thinking man can understand. Like Gold- 
smith's, his vocabulary is largely Saxon, the tongue 
of the plain people; and both have demonstrated that 
little Norman French or Anglicized Latin is needed to 
make a verbal gamut great enough for even the greatest 
of the lingual masters. 

I have been charged with being a Bryanophile, an 



THE REAL BRYAN 21 

unreasoning Bryan lover, but I do not think that my 
judgment has been unduly biased. That I am biased 
to a degree, I concede. I want to be biased. The man 
who is not biased in favor of his friend is not entitled 
to the friendship of that friend. But I don't think my 
bias blinds me. I recognize that while a mighty good 
man, he is still a man. One of his weaknesses, as I yiew 
his character, is its strength — to use an Irishism. He 
is slow to change, even when changed conditions make 
it at least politic and possibly wise to do so. A pretty 
good fault, most will say; and, indeed, just when 
strength of purpose becomes obstinacy, who can say? 
In his private business affairs, he is prudent, careful. 
His Scotch-Irish blood will serve as guarantee against 
a Bryan administration ever indulging in such a 
saturnalia of extravagance as has been made common 
by recent republican regimes. 

Time has demonstrated that Bryan has generally 
been right on public questions. 

But great as is his recognized ability — yet the foun- 
dation and keystone of his strength with the people is 
quarried from their faith in his honesty. The people 
have been surfeited with smart scamps, and cunning 
criminals, government grafters and senatorial short- 
change men — they want honest men. They want the 
head to be right, but more, they want the heart to be 
right; and that Bryan's heart beats with and for them, 
they know. 

Bryan's notions of duty are glimpsed through w^hat 
happened in 1898. I was strongly opposed to his being 
a soldier participant in the Spanish-American war. I 



22 THE REAL BRYAN 

felt sure that the republican administration would not 
permit him to do any fighting, would compel him to 
be a holiday soldier, and then accuse him of being 
what they compelled him to be, and thus attempt to 
hold him up to ridicule. All this I urged upon him, 
but his answer was characteristic : ''Don't you think a 
man will be kept pretty busy if he does his duty, with- 
out attempting to control all the consequences?" 

Bryan's greatness is like that of Washington and 
Lincoln, in that ramifying every part of it is the moral 
element; the particles that compose it are pure. 

It is said he cannot be president because the great 
men of the nation are rarely chosen ; and as proof the 
disappointed ambitions of Webster, Clay and Blaine 
are pointed to. AVhat of Jefferson, Jackson and Lin- 
coln ? And besides, the disappointed ones named, great 
as they were, yet lacked a roundness on the moral side 
without which the complete confidence of the people 
is seldom commanded. Mr. Bryan would give to the 
high office of president the simple dignity of the elder 
days, a thing that has been replaced in recent years 
by a cunning charlatanry. His life is clean and his 
purpose is pure, and for such an one the hour cries 
aloud. [Extracts from a newspaper article written by 
Mr, Atwood, Sept. 28, 1907,'] 



THE REAL BRYAN 



A FAR-REACHING PLATFORM 

We are interested in platforms; we attend conven- 
tions, sometimes traveling long distances; we have 
wordy wars over the phraseology of various planks and 
then we wage earnest campaigns to secure the endorse- 
ment of these platforms at the polls. But the plat- 
form given to the world by the Nazarene is more far- 
reaching and more comprehensive than any platform 
ever written by the convention of any party in any 
country. When He condensed into one commandment 
those of the ten which relate to man's duty toward 
his fellows and enjoined upon us the rule, " Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself," He presented a plan 
for the solution of all the problems that now vex so- 
ciety or may hereafter arise. Other remedies may pal- 
liate or postpone the day of settlement but this is all- 
sufficient and the reconciliation which it effects is a 
permanent one. [From ''The Prince of Peace/' an 
address delivered by Mr. Bryan on various occasions.] 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL 

The development of the individual is never com- 
plete. Solomon describes the path of the just as "like 

23 



24 THE REAL BRYAN 

the shining light that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day," and Holland, putting the same into verse, 

says : 

' 'Heaven is not gained by a single bound. 

We build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And mount to its summit round by round/* 

So, with the work of government and the work of 
civilization. We find an unfinished work when we ar- 
rive; we leave the work unfinished when we are called 
hence. Each day marks out our duty for us, and it is 
for us to devote ourselves to it, whatever it may be, 
with high purpose and unfaltering courage. Whether 
we live to enjoy the fruits of our efforts or lay down 
the work before the victory is won, we know that every 
well-spoken word has its influence; that no good deed 
is ever lost. And we know, also, that no one can count 
his life on earth as spent in vain, if when he departs, 
it can be said: 'The night is darker because his light 
has gone out; the world is not so warm because his 
heart has grown cold in death." [Address entitled 
"Man," delivered at CommeTi cement Day exercises, 
Nebraska State University, June IS, 1905.1 



THE BALLOT 

There is one citizen in this country who can prove 
himself unworthy of the ballot which has been given 



THE REAL BRYAN 25 

to him, and he is the citizen who either sells it or per- 
mits it to be wrested from him under coercion. When- 
ever a man offers you pay for your vote he insults 
your manhood, and you ought to have no respect for 
him. And the man, who instead of insulting your 
manhood by an offer of purchase, attempts to in- 
timidate you, to coerce you, insults your citizenship as 
well as your manhood. [Speech in CMcago in 1896.] 



CLASS HATRED 

I have sometimes been accused of arraying class 
against class. The man who accuses me of it has never 
read my speeches. I have never intentionally — and I 
think I can even say I never have unintentionally — 
said anything that could be properly construed as an 
attempt to array class against class. I have read many 
descriptions of Heaven, but I have never yet read a 
description of Heaven where there were two — one for 
the rich and one for the poor. If the rich and poor 
must live together forever in one heaven hereafter, 
can not we do something towards getting them ac- 
quainted here, so that they will not have to be intro- 
duced when they reach the other side? What are we 
doing to solve this question? I believe that Tolstoy 
is right when he says that the great trouble today — 
a trouble that manifests itself in all these questions — 
is the lack of sympathy between man and man; and 
for twenty-nine years, clad in the garb of a peasant 



28 THE REAL BRYAN 

and living the simple life of a peasant, he has been 
preaching out unto all the world a philosophy that 
rests upon the doctrine ''Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself." 
[From address entitled ''Democracy's Appeal to Cul- 
ture/' delivered before the Alumni Association of 
Syracuse University at Hotel Astor, New York, Jan. 
27, 1905.] 



THE DIGNITY OF LABOR 

The odium which rests upon the work of the hand 
has exerted a baneful influence the world around. The 
theory that idleness is more honorable than toil — that 
it is more respectable to consume what others have pro- 
duced than to be a producer of wealth — has not only 
robbed society of an enormous sum but it has created 
an almost impassable gulf between the leisure classes 
and those who support them. Tolstoy is right in as- 
serting that most of the perplexing problems of society 
grow out of the lack of sympathy between man and 
man. Because some imagine themselves above work 
while others see before them nothing but a life of 
drudgery there is constant warring and much of bit- 
terness. When men and women become ashamed of 
doing nothing and strive to give to society full com- 
pensation for all they receive from society there will 
be harmony between the classes. 

While Europe and America have advanced far be- 
yond the Orient in placing a proper estimate upon 



THE REAL BRYAN 27 

those who work, even our nations have not yet fully 
learned the lesson that employment at some useful avo- 
cation is essential to the physical health, intellectual 
development and moral growth. If America and Eng- 
land are to meet the requirements of their high posi- 
tions they must be prepared to present in the lives 
of their citizens examples, increasing in number, of 
men and women who find delight in contributing to 
the welfare of their fellows, and this ought not to be 
difficult, for every department of human activity has a 
fascination of its own. The agricultural colleges and 
industrial schools which have sprung up in so many 
localities are evidence that a higher ideal is spreading 
among the people. [From address entitled ''The 
White Man's Burden/' delivered before The American 
Society, London, July Jf, 1906.] 



ENFORCING THE LAW 

They tell you that I will not enforce the law. My 
friends, the fear of these people is not that I will refuse 
to enforce the law ; their fear is that I will enforce the 
law. They know that I entertain old fashioned ideas 
upon this subject, and that according to my ideas the 
big criminals should wear striped clothes as well as 
the little criminals. I want to say to you that I be- 
lieve in enforcing the law against all classes of society ; 
and those who believe in that policy are better friends 
of the government than those who would make scape- 



28 THE EEAL BRYAN 

goats of little criminals and then let the big ones run 
at large to run the government itself. The very 
men who would suffer the most from the enforcement 
of law are the ones who seem to be most troubled. 
They are not afraid that I will encourage lawlessness, 
but they know that, if I am elected, the trusts will not 
select the attorney-general. [Address in Chicago in 
1896.] 



FRATERNITY 

On an occasion like this a number of themes sug- 
gest themselves. The word ^'fraternity" comes to us 
at such a time for we meet under the auspices of one 
of the greatest fraternities of this nation, and the hour 
might well be occupied in speaking of the great work 
that the fraternity- is accomplishing throughout the 
world. Among the great forces that are at work draw- 
ing men closer together, teaching them to recognize 
the tie that binds each to every other, the fraternity 
occupies an important place. And the virtues upon 
which the fraternity rests — any of these would furnish 
an appropriate theme. The equality that is taught in 
the lodge room would in itself justify the existence 
of the fraternity, especially at this time when we need 
to learn over and over again that the worth of the indi- 
vidual depends not upon what he possesses, or upon 
distinguished lineage but upon the manner in which 
he performs the responsibilities that rest upon him; 
and our fraternity teaches this idea of equality. Hos- 



THE REAL BRYAN 29 

pitality is one of the virtues of our fraternity, and I 
think I can say without offending those who belong to 
other fraternities of which I am a member, that no 
fraternity in this land is more distinguished for hos- 
pitality. At home we can measure a man by what we 
know of him, and his position can rest upon his merits. 
But when a stranger comes among us we must assume 
the existence of virtues before we have an opportunity 
to test them ; and throughout this land the homes that 
have been established by the Elks have the latch string 
ever out. And no order that exists among us extends 
a more cordial welcome to the visiting brother, or 
shows to him a more constant courtesy and care. 

Charity is a virtue and this fraternity is conspicuous 
for what it does in the name of sweet charity. And it 
is a gracious thing in this fraternity that while it 
gives, gives willingly, and gives freely, it does not 
record the name of the one to whom it gives, that no 
humiliation shall ever come to one who has been the 
recipient of this fraternity's bounty. In charity no 
other order surpasses ours. 

Brotherly love is another virtue upon which one 
might dwell today. For brotherly love lies back of 
equality and hospitality, and charity. It is the idea 
of brotherly love that the fraternity everywhere is 
attempting to teach, and it is this idea of brotherly 
love which growing, as I believe it is growing through- 
out the world, is cementing mankind more and more 
closely together. And it is this brotherly love which 
in my judgment is going to throw a light upon our 
pathway, and make it easier for us to distinguish the 



60 THE REAL BRYAN 

duties which we owe one to another. [From address 
delivered at Elk's Lodge of Sorroiv, Lincoln, Neb., 
Dec. 2, 1906.] 



RELIGIOUS LIBERTY 

Democracy is indifferent to pedigree — it deals with 
the individual rather than with his ancestors. De- 
mocracy ignores differences in wealth — neither riches 
nor poverty can be invoked in behalf of or against any 
citizen. Democracy knows no creed — recognizing the 
right of each individual to worship God according to 
the dictates of his own conscience ; it welcomes all to a 
common brotherhood and guarantees equal treatment 
to all, no matter in what church or through what forms 
they commune with their Creator. ILetter of ac- 
ceptance in 1896.] 



I find that I am recalling more and more frequently 
a story which I heard when I was a boy; it has really 
had a great deal of influence in shaping my views on 
church questions. It was in a southern Methodist 
church that I heard it. The minister said that there 
was a mill, and that many people brought wheat to 
the mill by several roads. When they arrived with 
the wheat — some coming by one road and some by 
another — some over the hill and some along the 
stream — the miller never asked them by what road they 
came, but simply whether the wheat was good. 



THE REAL BRYAN 31 

That was years ago, but I have thought of that story- 
many, many times, and it ha^ made me feel that if we 
are one in the essentials we can afford to be charitable 
towards each other in the non-essentials, and all the 
branches of the Christian church are one in the great 
fundamental principles of religion. [From address 
entitled '' Democracy's Appeal to Culture/' delivered 
before the Alumni Association of Syracuse University 
at Hotel Astor, New York, Jan. 27, 1905.] 



^^ASK THE MOTHER'^ 

Ask the mother who holds in her arms her boy, 
what her ideal is concerning him and she will tell you 
that she desires that his heart may be so pure that it could 
be laid upon a pillow and not leave a stain; that his 
ambition may be so holy that it could be whispered 
in an angel's ear; and that his life may be so clean 
that his mother, his sister, his wife, his child could 
read a record of its every thought and act without a 
blush. But ask her if she will require this perfection 
in her son before she showers her love upon him, and 
she will answer ''No.'^ She will tell you that she will 
make him as good as she can; that she will follow his 
footsteps with a daily prayer; that in whatever land 
he wanders her blessing will abide with him ; and that 
when he dies she'll hope, hope, yet hope that the world 
will be better that he has lived. This is all that she 
can do. All that any of us can do for ourselves or for 



32 THE REAL BRYAN 

others is the best that opportunity and circumstances 
permit. [From address entitled ''Man," delivered at 
Commencement Day exercises, Nebraska State Vniver- 
sity, June 15, 1905.] 



DEMOCRACY 

A democrat may be pardoned for cherishing a high 
regard for the land that coined the word, democracy. 
The derivation of the word — from demos, the people, 
and kratein, to rule — makes it an appropriate one to 
describe a government based upon popular will. And 
as governments more and more recognize the citizen as 
the sovereign and the people as the source of all politi- 
cal power, the world's debt to Greece will be more and 
more fully appreciated. She not only gave to language 
a word accurately expressing the idea of self-govern- 
ment, but she proved by experience the wisdom of 
trusting the people with the management of all public 
affairs. [From letter on Greece.] 



CIVILIZATION 

If civilization can be defined — and I know of no 
better definition — as the harmonious development of 
the human race, physically, mentally and morally, 
then each individual, whether his influence is percepti- 
ble or not, raises the level of the civilization of his 



THE KEAL BRYAN 33 

age just in proportion as he contributes to the world's 
work a body, a mind and a heart capable of maximum 
effort. No one lives unto himself or dies unto himself. 
The tie that binds each human being to every other 
human being is one that can not be severed. We can 
not without blame invite a physical weakness that can 
be avoided or continue one which can be remedied. 
The burdens to be borne are great enough to tax the 
resources of all when service is rendered under the 
most favorable conditions; no one has a right to offer 
less than the best within his power. [Address entitled 
^'Man," delivered at Commencement Day exercises, Ne- 
braska State University, June 15, 1905.1 



MAJESTIC NATURE 

How puny seems the works of man when brought 
into comparison with majestic nature! His groves, 
what pigmies when measured against the virgin for- 
est! His noblest temples, how insignificant when con- 
trasted with the masonry of the hills! What canvas 
can imitate the dawn and sunset? What inlaid work 
can match the mosaics of the mountains? 

Is it blind chance that gives these glimpses of the 
sublime? And was it blind chance that clustered vast 
reservoirs about in accessible summits and stored water 
to refresh the thirsty plains through hidden veins and 
surface streams? 

No wonder man from the beginning of history has 



34 THE REAL BRYAN 

turned to the heights for inspiration, for here is the 
spirit awed by the infinite and here one sees both the 
mystery of creation and the manifestations of the 
Father's loving kindness. Here man finds a witness, 
unimpeachable though silent, to the Omnipotence, the 
Omniscience and the Goodness of God. [From letter 
on Eastern India.'] 



DEFEAT 



The friends of these reforms have fought a good 
fight ; they have kept the faith, and they will not have 
finished their course until the reforms are accom- 
plished. Let us be grateful for the progress made, and 
^Vith malice toward none and charity for all" begin 
the work of the next campaign. Those who fight for 
the right may be defeated, but they are never con- 
quered. They may suffer reverses, but they never suf- 
fer disgrace. [FroTn a letter vmtten November 8, 
189 If, after his defeat for U. S. Senator.] 



AMERICANISM 

Like all travelers who have visited other lands, I 
return with delight to the land of my birth, more 
proud of its people, with more confidence in its gov- 
ernment and grateful to the kind Providence that cast 
my lot in the United States. My national pride has 



THE REAL BRYAN 35 

been increased because of the abundant evidence I have 
seen in the altruistic interest taken by Americans in 
the people of other countries. No other nation can 
show such a record of benevolence and disinterested 
friendship. My love for our form of government has 
been quickened as I have visited castles and towers, 
and peered into dark dungeons and I am glad that our 
nation, profiting by the experience of the past and yet 
unhampered by traditions and unfettered by caste, has 
been permitted to form a new center of civilization on 
new soil and erect here "a government of the people, 
by the people and for the people." I also return more 
deeply impressed than ever before with the responsi- 
bility that rests upon our nation as an exemplar among 
the nations and more solicitous that we, avoiding the 
causes which have led other nations to decay, may 
present a higher ideal than has ever before been em- 
bodied in a national life and carry human progress 
to a higher plane than it has before reached. [From 
Madison Square Garden, New York, speech, Aug. 30, 
1906.] 



WAR 



War is harsh; it is attended by hardship and suf- 
fering ; it means a vast expenditure of men and money. 
We may well pray for the coming of the day, prom- 
ised in Holy Writ, when the swords shall be beaten into 
plowshares and the spears into pruning hooks; but 
universal peace cannot come until Justice is enthroned 



36 THE REAL BRYAN 

throughout the world. Jehovah deals with nations as 
He deals with men, and for both decrees that the wages 
of sin is death. Until the right has triumj^hed in 
every land and love reigns in every heart government 
must, as a last resort, appeal to force. As long as the 
oppressor is deaf to the voicie of reason, so long must 
the citizen accustom his shoulder to the musket and 
his hand to the saber. [Extract from speech delivered 
at Trans-Mississippi Exposition, Omaha, Neb., June 
U, 1898.] 



«A WORLD POWER'' 

I believe that if our nation would propose to make 
with every other nation a treaty providing that all 
questions in dispute between the parties should be sub- 
mitted to The Hague court or some other impartial 
international tribunal for investigation and report be- 
fore any declaration of war or commencement of hos- 
tilities, it would find many nations willing to enter 
into such a compact. I am sure from the public utter- 
ances of the present prime minister of Great Britain, 
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, that such a treaty 
could be made between the two great English-speaking 
nations and their example would be followed until the 
danger of war would be almost, if not entirely, re- 
moved. To take the lead in such a movement would 
establish our position as a world power in the best 
sense of the term. What argument can be advanced 
against such action on the part of the United States? 



THE REAL BRYAN 37 

Shall we yield to any other nation in the estimate to 
be placed upon the value of human life? I confess 
that my aversion to killing increases with the years. 
Surely the Creator did not so plan the universe as to 
make the progress of the race dependent upon whole- 
sale blood letting. I prefer to believe that war, instead 
of being an agency for good, is rather an evidence of 
man's surrender to his passions, and that one of the 
tests of civilization is man's willingness to submit his 
controversies to the arbitration of reason rather than 
of force. [From Madison Square Garden, Neiv York, 
speech, Aug. 30, 1906.] 



DUTY OF SUPERIOR NATIONS 

The Christian nations must lead the movement for 
the promotion of peace, not only because they are en- 
listed under the banner of the Prince of Peace, but 
also because they have attained such a degree of intel- 
ligence that they can no longer take pride in a purely 
physical victory. The belief that moral questions can 
be settled by the shedding of human blood is a relic 
of barbarism; to doubt the dynamic power of right- 
eousness is infidelity to truth itself. That nation which 
is unwilling to trust its cause to the universal con- 
science or which shrinks from the presentation of its 
claims before a tribunal where reason holds sway 
betrays a laqk of faith in the soundness of its posi- 
tion. I venture to suggest that the world's peace would 



38 THE KEAL BRYAN 

be greatly promoted by an agreement among the lead- 
ing nations that no declaration of war should be made 
until the submission of the question in controversy to 
an impartial court for investigation, each nation reserv- 
ing the right to accept or reject the decision. The 
preliminary investigation would in almost every in- 
stance insure an amicable settlement and the reserved 
rights would be a sufficient protection against any 
possible injustice. [From address entitled ''The White 
Man's Burden/' delivered before The American So- 
ciety, London, July I^, 1906.'] 



THE MYSTERIES OF NATURE 

One of the virtues of Elisha Gray's (author of 
^'Nature's Miracles") writings is that he presents scien- 
tific truth without materialistic coloring. His study 
of nature did not lead him to forget nature's God. The 
investigation of science ought to increase rather than 
diminish reverence for the Creator, for each new dis- 
covery proves more clearly the wisdom and power of 
the great Designer. The patterns that He has set 
invite limitless effort. The soap bubble presents a 
combination of colors that the artist has thus far failed 
to match ; a pint of water holds a latent energy which 
no giant can boast ; the trembling leaf contains a labo- 
ratory more complete than the chemist has been able 
to construct; the tiniest seed that falls to the ground 
possesses a potency that man has not yet fathomed. 



THE REAL BRYAN 39 

Working in the midst of mysteries and dumb in the 
presence of the daily miracle of life we are constantly 
gathering evidence of the loving kindness of the In- 
finite Intelligence who has so bountifully provided for 
the supplying of every human need. [Commoner edi- 
torial, 1905.] 



IMMORTALITY 

I have here a little grain of wheat; it grew more 
than 3,000 years ago on the banks of the Nile. Ten 
centuries before the Babe of Bethlehem was carried 
down into Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod, the 
stalk upon which this little grain matured was swaying 
in the breezes that fanned the brovv^ of the Sphinx. 
All these years it has slumbered in an ancient tomb. 
Had it been planted, and all its progeny after it, the 
lineal descendants of that one grain would be numer- 
ous enough to feed the teeming world today. In 
every grain of wheat there is a germ of life — a germ 
of life that has within it the power to discard the body 
of today and construct from air and earth not a new 
body alone, but many new bodies — and into each one 
of the many it can put the power to continue the work 
of reproduction. If the vital spark in a grain of 
wheat can pass unchanged through countless deaths 
and resurrections, surely the spirit of man will be able 
to defy the grave. All nature proclaims that there is 
another life, and the belief in that other life lends 
comfort to us when, separated from a friend, w^e have 



40 THE KEAL BRYAN 

the assurance that it is but for a time. The belief in 
immortality relieves the somber character of an oc- 
casion like this, for we are assured that the congenial 
spirits who meet and mingle here will hold com- 
munion in the world beyond. Belief in immortality 
not only gives consolation but it gives strength. We 
can better resist the temptation to do wrong to others 
when we expect to meet and associate with them in an 
endless world where our secret thoughts will be made 
known. [From address delivered at Elk's Lodge of 
Sorrow, Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 2, 1906.] 



To every created thing God has given a tongue 
that proclaims a resurrection. 

If the Father deigns to touch with divine power the 
cold and pulseless heart of the buried acorn and to 
make it burst forth into a new life, will He leave neg- 
lected in the earth the soul of man, made in the image 
of his -creator? If He stoops to give to the rose bush 
whose withered blossoms float upon the autumn breeze, 
the sweet assurance of another springtime, will He 
refuse the words of hope to the sons of men when the 
frosts of winter come? If niatter, mute and inanimate, 
though changed by the forces of nature into a multi- 
tude of forms, can never die, will the spirit of man 
suffer annihilation when it has paid a brief visit like 
a royal guest to this tenement of clay? No, I am as 
sure that there is another life as I am that I live today ! 
I am sure that, as the grain of wheat contains within 



THE REAL BRYAN 41 

an invisible germ which can discard its body and 
build a new one from earth and air, so this body con- 
tains a soul which can clothe itself anew when this 
poor frame crumbles into dust. [From ''The Prince 
of Peace," an address delivered on various occasions.] 



MOTHERHOOD 

Fredericksburg is not a large city and yet it is rich 
in incidents of great historic value. Here the women 
of America have reared a monument to Mary the 
mother of Washington. I am glad to stand on this 
spot; I am glad to feel the influences which surround 
her grave. In a campaign, especially in a campaign 
like this, there is much of bitterness, and sometimes of 
abuse spoken against the candidates for public office, 
but, my friends, there is one character, the mother — 
a candidate for the affections of all mankind) — against 
vvhom no true man ever uttered a word of abuse. 
There is one name, mother, which is never found upon 
the tongue of the slanderer — in her presence all criti- 
cism is silenced. The painter has, with his brush, 
transferred the landscape to the canvas with such 
fidelity that the trees and grasses seem almost real; 
he has even made the face of a maiden seem instinct 
with life, but there is one picture so beautiful that no 
painter has ever been able to perfectly reproduce it, 
and that is the picture of the mother holding in her 
arms her babe. Within the shadow of this monument, 



-4.Z THE KEAL BRYAN 

reared to the memory of her who in her love and loy- 
alty represents the mother of each one of us, I bow in 
humble reverence to motherhood. [From speech de- 
livered at Fredericksburg, Va., during campaign of 
1896.] 



TARIFA 



As the traveler leaves Gibraltar for the west he bids 
farewell to Africa and to Europe at the same time. 
Gibraltar and a somewhat similar rock on the opposite 
side of the channel, the two, anciently known as the 
Pillars of Hercules, stand out in bold relief against 
the sky. These rocks are not the last land, however, 
although the most striking features. There is a point 
a few miles farther west known as Tarifa which, ac- 
cording to tradition, was once occupied by bold rob- 
bers who exacted tribute from all who passed by. It 
it even said that our word tariff traces its origin to this 
Tarifa; if it be true that the two words are related it 
is fitting that Tarifa should be the last thing seen by 
the traveler on his departure, for the tariff is the first 
thing which he encounters upon his arrival in Amer- 
ica. IFrom letter on Spain.] 



TOLSTOY 



Tolstoy's career shows how despotic is the sway of 
the heart and how, after all, it rules the world, for 



THE REAL BRYAN 43 

while his literary achievements have been admired, the 
influence which they have exerted is as nothing as 
compared with the influence exerted by his philosophy. 
People enjoy reading his character sketches, his dia- 
logues and his descriptions of Russian life, but these 
do not take hold upon men, like his simple presenta- 
tion of the doctrine of love; exemplified in his life as 
clearly as it is expressed by his pen. Many of his 
utterances are denied publication in Russia, and when 
printed abroad cannot be carried across the border; 
and yet he has made such a powerful impression upon 
the world that he is himself safe from molestation. 
He can say with impunity against his government and 
against the Greek church what it would be perilous 
for others to say, and this very security is proof posi- 
tive that in Russia thought inspired by love is, as 
Carlyle has declared it to be everywhere, stronger than 
artillery parks. [From letter on Tolstoy.] 



CORONATION OF A KING 

I do not expect to witness another coronation, and 
it will be some satisfaction to remember that the first 
and only one attended was that of a king whom the 
people of their own accord selected ; for if there is any- 
thing more democratic than a republican form of gov- 
ernment, it is the fundamental principle that the 
people have a right to have whatever form of govern- 
ment they desire. Jefferson emphasized this doctrine 



44 THE REAL BRYAN 

when the people of France called Napoleon to the 
throne, and it has Bible sanction as well, for when the 
children of Israel still demanded a king, even after 
Samuel explained what a king would do, he was told 
to let them have their way. [From letter on Nor- 
way,] 



VALUABLE ASSETS 

Although nations boast of material wealth and manu- 
facturing plants, their most valuable assets are their 
men and women of merit, and their greatest factories 
are their institutions of learning, which convert price- 
less raw material into a finished product of inestima- 
ble worth. Gladstone, vigorous in body, strong in 
mind and elevated in moral purpose, was an ornament 
to the age in which he lived and will be an inspiration 
to succeeding generations. [From letter on Great 
Britain.'} 



AMERICAN PHILANTHROPY 

I do not apologize for mentioning from time to time 
the institutions which altruistic Americans have scat- 
tered over the Orient. If we can not boast that the 
sun never sets on American territory, we can find sat- 
isfaction in the fact that the sun never sets on Ameri- 
can philanthropy ; if the boom of our cannon does not 
follow the Orb of Day in his daily round, the grateful 



THE EEAL BRYAN ^ 45 

thanks of those who have been the beneficiaries of 
American generosity form a chorus that encircles the 
globe. [From letter on India.] 



JERUSALEM 

Once within the city, one is surrounded on every 
hand by places that stir the tenderest of memories. 
Even the uncertainty as to the identification of many 
of the sites made sacred by the life, the sufferings and 
the death of Christ — even the rivalry between the vari- 
ous sects cannot prevent feelings of re\erence. Here 
He whose name is borne by increasing millions was 
condemned without cause, crowned with thorns and at 
last crucified, sealing with His blood the testimony 
of His life. [From letter on Jerusalem.] 



BUSINESS HONOR 

Professor Jenks, in calling attention to business 
honor as now defined, said in a recent speech: ''The 
frequency of great fortunes, gathered perhaps legally 
but in ways felt to be unjust, through the power of 
monopoly, have tended strongly to obscure the moral 
vision of many well meaning men, who have been 
thereby led to confound morality with social right- 
eousness; and their acts have formed the excuse for 



46 THE REAL BRYAN 

many others to break the laws, which seem to them 
unjust. The profit from an unjust, though legal, 
stock watering may well prove more demoralizing in 
business circles than the illegal freight rebate which 
saves from ruin a grain shipper caught at a disad- 
vantage." 

A large volume could be written on this subject and 
many interesting instances could be given to illustrate 
modern business honor. Professor Jenks calls atten- 
tion to the monopoly. Men who would blush to be 
called highwaymen will rob through monopoly and 
defend it, although their crime is grand larceny as 
compared with the petty stealings of the highway- 
men. Men who break laws with impunity, when those 
laws stand in the way of their grasping methods, will 
pose as friends of law^ and order when some small 
crime is committed. We have recently seen a man 
prominent in the financial world escape from the 
charge of embezzlement on the ground that he had no 
personal interest in diverting insurance funds from 
the pockets of the policyholders to the treasury of the 
republican campaign committee, and now we see that 
same financier indicted, along with an ex-secretary 
of the treasury, for forgery, and their excuse is that 
they derived no pecuniary profit from their violation 
of the law. They simply did it to deceive the author- 
ities of a foreign nation in w^hich their company did 
business. Is it not time for our preachers, our pub- 
licists and our moralists to so define crime as to 
take away from these business men the excuse 
that they sin ionorantlv? Is it not time that the 



THE REAL BRYAN 47 

public conscience was turned upon these questions? 
The business men themselves ought to see to it 
that their class is relieved from the odium that 
attaches to these constant violations of statute and 
moral law. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



THREE KINDS OF GOVERNMENT 

I learned in the schools that there were three kinds 
of government: the monarchy, the aristocracy and the 
democracy. The monarchy was supposed to be the 
strongest, the aristocracy the wisest, and the democ- 
racy the most just. If these definitions were correct, 
I would prefer the democracy, because justice is, after 
all, the only foundation upon which permanent gov- 
ernment can rest. But I deny that monarchy is the 
strongest and that an aristocracy is the wisest. A gov- 
ernment that can draw from the wisdom of all the 
people is w^iser than a government that rests upon the 
wisdom of a part, for all the people know more than 
any of the people. Neither is a monarchy the strong- 
est. It is said to act more quickly, but quickness is 
not the only characteristic of strewgth. I believe with. 
Bancroft that a republic is, in truth, the strongest of 
all the governments because it builds its citadel in the 
hearts of men. I insist, therefore, our form of gov- 
ernment is not only the most just, but the wisest 
and strongest, and I want it to be made stronger still 
by being made more just, if possible, than it is today. 



48 THE REAL BRYAN 

Because I opposed imperialism some used to call me 
a little American, but I will allow no one to go beyond 
me in estimating this nation's greatness. No one goes 
beyond me in his conception of the nation's mission. 
Do you want this nation to dominate the inferior 
races? I want it to influence the great races as well. 
Do you want it to conquer half-civilized nations? I 
want it to be the leader of civilized nations. You can 
not go beyond me in your conception of this nation's 
future. I want this nation to shake every throne on 
earth! Not by force or violence, but by showing the 
world something better than thrones, a government 
resting upon the consent of the governed, strong be- 
cause it is loved, and loved because it is good. [From 
speech delivered at th^ Jamestown Exposition, May 
SO, WO?.] 



A HIGH PURPOSE 

The ideal is of transcendent importance both to the 
individual and to those about him. Whether life is a 
success or not depends far more upon the moral pur- 
pose than it does upon the health or mental strength 
of the individual. History is replete with instances 
where men and women have accomplished much in 
spite of great physical infirmity. Helpless cripples and 
persons deformed have sometimes won a fame denied 
to athletes and to gladiators; sightless eyes have often 
beheld spiritual beauties which multitudes have failed 
to find; the bed of the invalid has sometimes been a 



THE REAL BRYAN 49 

throne from which have flown blessings greater than a 
monarch can bestow. Not only has a high purpose 
overcome physical obstacles, but it has often made up 
for the lack of educational advantages. In innumer- 
able cases an uneducated person, inspired by love for 
a great cause and filled with zeal, has surpassed those 
far better equipped, but lacking a compelling purpose. 
[Address entitled "Man'' delivered at Commencement 
Day exercises, Nebraska State University, June 15, 
1905.'] 



THE WISE AGE 

A reader of The Commoner sends in the following: 

"At ten years of age a boy thinks his father knows 
a great deal, 

"At fifteen he knows as much as his father; 

"At twenty he knows twice as much ; 

"At thirty he is willing to take his advice; 

"At forty he begins to think his father knew some- 
thing after all; 

"At fifty he begins to seek his advice ; 

"And at sixty, after his father is dead, he thinks he 
was the smartest man that ever lived." 

The above correcth^ states the stages through whicli 
one pQvSses. At about eighteen or twenty the boy feels 
stronger than he ever does afterwards and thinks he 
knows more than he ever does know, but he learns 
after awhile to respect the wi>doni of his father, espe- 
ciallv when he becom^es a father. There is an educa- 



50 THE REAL BRYAN 

tion in all of the experiences of life. The parent 
educates the child and the child in turn enlarges the 
vision of the parent. Brothers and sisters exert an in- 
fluence upon each other, and another part of our knowl- 
edge is gathered from rubbing up against the world. 

If the child could only learn in youth that years 
have given valuable experience to the parent, the child 
might be saved much costly folly, but some children 
insist upon learning by experience, and they generally 
get the experience. 

There is a common saying that the young man has 
to sow his wild oats. This is a complacent excuse 
given for youthful indiscretions, but it does not state 
the truth. It is not necessary that a boy should be 
bad in order to be good afterwards. It is from every 
standpoint better that his life shall be so regulated 
from the beginning that the memory is not stained 
by scars and blots. If the confidence which the boy 
has in his father at ten continued until he w^as twenty- 
five, he w^ould not only escape the habits that carry 
so many to ruin but w^ould be the stronger for life's 
work. [From an editorial in The Commoner.'] 



THE SCHOLAR IN GOVERNMENT 

A great orator complained a generation ago that the 
scholar in the republic was not doing the work for 
which his education fitted him. He declared that the 
great truths relating to society were not the result of 



THE REAL BRYAN 51 

scholarly meditation, but had been first heard in tho 
solemn protest of martyred patriotism and the loud 
cries of crushed and starving labor — that the scholars, 
instead of making history, were content to write it 
"one-half truly and the other half as their prejudices 
blur and distort it." 

Let not this reproach be truthfully uttered against 
the scholars of America today. With a soil capable of 
supporting a vast population, with a climate that gives 
infinite variety and furnishes healing for every ill; 
with a people commingling the best blood of all the 
races and a government which furnishes the greatest 
stimulus to high endeavor — here the scholar ought to 
find the most powerful incentive and be inspired to 
the most heroic effort. Whether he turns his atten- 
tion to the improvement of crops and herbs, to me- 
chanical labor, to the perfecting of methods of ex- 
change, or to the cheapening of transportation, or 
ministers as a physician to the ills of the body, or as 
an instructor to the wants of the mind, or as a religi- 
ous teacher to the needs of the heart, no matter to 
what he devotes himself, infinite possibilities are be- 
fore him. In whatever walk of life he takes his place 
he cannot shirk the duties of citizenship, for, living in 
a land where every citizen is a sovereign and where 
no one dares to wear a crown, he must help to make 
the government good or share the blame for permitting 
evils that might be corrected. 

If we apply the term coward to one who, from fear 
of bodily harm, falters upon the battlefield, we must 
find some harsher term to apply to those who igno- 



52 THE REAL BRYAN 

miniously withdraw themselves from the struggle of to- 
day, in the presence of the tremendous problems which 
require for their wise solution all the energies of the 
body, all the powers of the mind and all the virtues 
of the heart. [Address entitled "Man," delivered at 
Commencement Day exercises, Nebraska State Uni- 
versity, June 15, 1905.] 



WINNING BY JUSTICE 

The president has authorized Secretary of State Root 
to notify the Chinese ambassador that he will recom- 
mend the reduction of the indemnity agreed upon at 
the close of the boxer trouble. The-indemnity claimed 
by the United States was $24,440,000 and some six 
millions have been paid. It has been found that $11,- 
000,000 will cover our loss and expense incurred, and 
the president will ask congress to reduce the amount 
to the actual loss incurred. 

This is an act of justice which very naturally im- 
presses the Chinese with our fairness and the Chinese 
ambassador has, in eloquent words, expressed his 
nation^s gratitude. Our nation strengthens its position 
when it gives evidence of its desire to do justice to 
all in its international dealings and the president has 
made no mistake in reaching the conclusion which 
has been announced. 

Some forty years ago our government voluntarily 
reduced an indemnity which Japan was paying and 



THE REAL BRYAN 53 

the Japanese always speak of it in extending a welcome 
to an American. As nations collect indemnity by force 
it is the more important that they should scrupulously 
avoid anything like extortion. Our nation sets a splen- 
did example in refusing to accept more than the dam- 
ages actually suffered and time will demonstrate that 
from a commercial standpoint as well as from the 
standpoint of morals it pays for our government to be 
just. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



GRAFT 



In Arkansas a former state senator is serving a peni- 
tentiary sentence and doing work with the other con- 
victs as a punishment for graft. However humiliating 
it may be to have a state official in the chain gang it 
speaks well for democratic Arkansas that she admin- 
isters punishment to the guilty without regard to posi- 
tion in society or politics. Leniency is more often 
shown to those standing high in public esteem than 
to those who are obscure, but as a rule the lowly are 
more deserving of sympathy. Those who are promi- 
nent have usually had greater advantages and are 
hedged about with influences which strengthen and 
support. Those, on the other hand, who are reared in 
the slums or who live upon the ragged edge of society 
and have a struggle for existence — these are less forti- 
fied against temptation. If those sin most who sin 
against the light then those deserve the severest pun- 



54 THE REAL BRYAN 

ishment who add to their crimes the betrayal of public 
confidence. Investigations show that graft is wide- 
spread. Legislators sell their votes, county commis- 
sioners traffic in contracts, city councils barter away 
valuable franchises and school trustees collect com- 
missions on supplies — not all of course, but enough 
violate their oath of office to call for vigorous enforce- 
ment of the criminal law and the cultivation of a public 
opinion which will compel honesty in public servants. 
Arkansas is doing her part in the enforcement of the 
law and her example ought to be followed; the min- 
isters and editors should do their part in cultivating 
public opinion. [From an editofial in The Coror 
moner.] 



THANKSGIVING 

On the Fourth of July the eagle seems a little larger 
than it does on any other day, and its scream may 
grate more harshly on the foreign ear than it does 
at any other time. But on this day we cultivate rever- 
ence and express our appreciation of those blessings 
that have come to our country without the thought or 
aid of Americans. We have reason to look with some 
degree of pride upon the achievement of the United 
States; we contemplate the present with satisfaction, 
and look to the future with hope ; and yet on this oc- 
casion we may well remember that we are but building 
upon the foundations that have been laid for us. We 
did not create the fertile soil that is the basis of our 



THE REAL BRYAN 55 

agricultural greatness; the streams that drain and feed 
our valleys were not channelled by human hands. We 
did not fashion the climate that gives us the white 
cotton belt of the south, the yellow wheat belt of the 
north, and the central corn belt that joins the two 
and overlaps them both. We do not gather up the 
moisture and fix the date of the early and later rains; 
we did not hide away in the mountains the gold and the 
silver ; we did not store in the earth the deposits of cop- 
per and of zinc ; we did not create the measures of coal 
and the beds of iron. All these natural resources, 
which we have but commenced to develop, are the gift 
of Him before Whom we bow in gratitude tonight. 
[From speech delivered at banquet given to Ambassa- 
dor Choate, Thanksgiving Day, London, November 26, 
1903.] 



^XOYALTY TO THE MONEY BAG" 

Greed for gain has raged like a fever, but there are 
signs of abatement. The standard of measurement 
has too often been wealth — no matter how secured — 
but there is evidence of a return to higher ideals. Many 
have been '^hoodwinked into believing" that what Car- 
lyle calls ^'loyalty to the money-bag" is a noble loyalty, 
but he speaks the verdict of history when he says: 

''Mammon, cries the generous heart out of all ages 
and countries, is the basest of known gods, even of 
known devils. In him what glory is there, that ye 
should worship him? No glory discernible; not even 



56 THE REAL BRYAN 

terror; at best detestability, ill-matched with despica- 
bility!" 

And in the days to come — may they draw near! — 
we shall learn anew that "thought is stronger than ar- 
tillery parks," and that "the beginning of all thought 
worthy of the name is Love.'' [From an article writ- 
ten for ''Public Opinion" in May, 1905.'] 



FREE SPEECH 

Since I have been here I have been profoundly 
impressed with the part that Englishmen have taken 
in establishing the right of free speech. And I may 
say that before I came to this country the thing that 
most challenged my admiration in the Englishman 
w^as his determination to make his opinion known when 
he had an opinion that he thought should be given 
to the world. Passing through the Bank of England, 
to which my friend, the ambassador, has referred, my 
attention was called to % protest that Admiral Coch- 
rane wrote upon the bank-note with which he paid 
the thousand pounds fine that had been assessed against 
him. I was interested in that protest because it showed 
a fearlessness that indicates the possibilities of the race. 
x.et me read what he said : "My health having suffered 
by long ancl close confinement, and my oppressors hav- 
ing resolved to deprive me of property or life, I sub- 
mit to robbery to protect myself from murder (laugh- 
ter) in the hope that I shall live to bring the delin- 



THE REAL BRYAN 57 

quents to justice." (Renewed laughter.) That is the 
spirit that moves the world! There was a man in 
prison. He must pay his fine in order to gain his 
liberty. He believed the action of the court unjust. 
He knew that if he stayed there he would lose his life 
and lose the chance for vindication, ajid yet, as he 
was going forth from the prison doors, he did not go 
Avith bowed head or cringing, but flung his protest in 
the face of his oppressors, and told them he submitted 
to robbery to protect his life in the hope that, having 
escaped from their hands, he might bring them to 
justice. I like that in the Englishman, and during 
my short knowledge of public affairs I have looked 
■^ cross the ocean and admired the moral courage and 
the manliness of those Englishmen who have dared to 
stand out against overwhelming odds and assert their 
opinions before the world. [From speech delivered at 
banquet given to Ambassador Choate, London, Novem- 
ber 26, 1903.] 



PLUTOCRACY 

Plutocracy is abhorrent to a republic ; it is more des- 
potic than monarchy, more heartless than aristocracy, 
more selfish than bureaucracy. It preys upon the nation 
in time of peace and conspires against it in the hour 
of its calamity. Conscienceless, compassionless and 
devoid of wisdom, it enervates its votaries while it im- 
poverishes its victims. It is already sapping the strength 
of the nation, vulgarizing social life and making mock- 



58 THE REAL BRYAN 

ery out of morals. The time is ripe for the overthrow 
of this giant wrong. In the name of the counting 
rooms, which it has defiled; in the name of business 
honor which it has polluted ; in the name of the home 
which it has despoiled ; in the name of religion which 
it has disgraced; in the name of the people whom it 
has oppressed, let us make our appeal to the awakened 
conscience of the nation. [From Madison Square Gar- 
den, New York, speech, August SO, 1906.] 



REVENGE 



The papers announce that an eastern spinster has 
left her former lover a fortune estimated at $150,000, 
on condition that he obtain a divorce from his wife. 
The spinster was disappointed because he finally pre- 
ferred another woman to her and takes her revenge 
by trying to separate them. At first it might seem 
that the revenge was aimed at her successful rival, but 
the man is really the one at whom the thrust is made, 
for if he were sordid enough to divorce his wife to se- 
cure a fortune he would soon become an object of pity, 
for the contempt of his neighbors would make life 
unbearable. But what shall we say of the revengeful 
spirit which affixed the condition to the bequest. Pos- 
sibly she thought she loved the man, but true love 
shows itself in a different way. 

If she had loved him as many have loved she would 
either have kept silent, or, if she wanted to leave him 



THE REAL BRYAN 59 

money, she would have left it for him to use to pro- 
mote his own happiness and welfare. Her love was of 
the kind that leads young men to kill their sweethearts 
(when they have been rejected) and then kill them- 
selves. 

It is a selfish love — if love can be selfish — that 
prompts one to punish the object of his affection. Sacri- 
fice is the language of love. "Greater love hath no man 
than this that he lay down his life for his friend" — 
but the so-called love which exacts a penalty has in 
it the element of revenge rather than genuine affection. 

And revenge is the hardest load that any one can 
carry. No one is strong enough to attempt such a 
burden, and no one can afford to risk its corroding 
influence on his life. This conditional bequest shows 
how cherishing revenge will warp a nature. [Editorial 
in The Commoner.] 



THE GREATER MAN AND NATION 

I visited the Tower of London today and saw upon 
the wall a strange figure. It was made of swords, 
ramrods, and bayonets, and was fashioned into the 
form of a flower. Someone had put a card on it and 
aptly named it the passion flower — and it has been 
too often the international flower. But the world has 
made progress. No longer do ambition and avarice 
furnish a sufficient excuse for war. The world has 
made progress, and today you cannot justify bloodshed 
except in defense of a right already ascertained, and 



(50 THE REAL BRYAN 

then only when all peaceable means have been ex- 
hausted. The world has made progress. We have 
reached a point where we respect not the man who will 
die to secure some pecuniary advantage, but who will 
die in defense of hi^ rights. We admire the moral 
courage of the man who is willing to die in defense 
of his rights, but there is yet before us a higher ground. 
Is he great who will die in defense of his rights? There 
is yet to come a greater man still — the man who will 
die rather than trespass upon the rights of another. 
Hail to the nation whatever its name may be that leads 
the world towards the realization of this higher ideal. 
I am glad that we now recognize that there is some- 
thing more powerful than physical force, and no one 
has stated it better than Carlyle. He said that thought 
was stronger than artillery parks, and at last moulded 
the world like soft clay ; that behind thought was love, 
and that there never was a wise head that had not be- 
hind it a generous heart. ^The world is coming to 
understand that armies and navies, however numerous 
and strong, are impotent to stop thought. Thought 
inspired by love will yet rule the world. I am glad 
that there is a national product more valuable than 
gold or silver, more valuable than cotton and wheat or 
corn or iron, the ideal. That is a merchandise — if I 
may call it such — that moves freely from country to 
country. You cannot vex it with an export tax or 
hinder it with an import tariff. It is greater than legis- 
lators, and rises triumphant over the machinery of gov- 
ernment. In the rivalry to present the best ideal to 
the world, love, not hatred, will control; and I am glad 



THE REAL BRYAN 61 

that on this Thanksgiving Day I can meet with my 
countrymen and their friends here assembled, return 
thanks for what my country has received, thanks for 
the progress that the world has made, and contemplate 
with joy the coming of that day when the rivalry be- 
tween nations will be, not to see which can injure the 
other most, but to show which can hold highest the 
light that guides the pathway of the human race to 
higher ground. [From speech delivered at banquet 
given to Ambassador Choate, London, November 26, 
190S.'] 



PAYING WHAT WE OWE 

We sometimes feel that we have a sort of proprie- 
tary interest in the principles of government set forth 
in the Declaration of Independence. That is a docu- 
ment which we have given to the world, and yet the 
principles set forth therein were not invented by an 
American. Thomas Jefferson expressed them in felicit- 
ous language and put them into permanent form, but 
the principles had been known before. The doctrine 
that all m.en are created equal, that they are endowed 
with inalienable rights, that governments were insti- 
tuted amongst men to secure these rights, and that 
they derived their just power from the consent of the 
governed — this doctrine which stands four square with 
all the world was not conceived in the United States, 
it did not spring from the American mind — aye, it did 
not come so much from anv mind as it was an emana- 



62 THE REAL BRYAN 

tion from the heart, and it had been in the hearts of 
men for ages. Before Columbus turned the prow 
of his ship towards the west on that eventful voy- 
age, before the Barons wrested Magna Charta from 
King John — yes, before the Roman legions landed on 
the shores of this island — aye, before Homer sang — 
that sentiment had nestled in the heart of man, and 
nerved him to resist the oppressor. That sentiment was 
not even of human origin. Our own great Lincoln de- 
clared that it was God himself who implanted in every 
human heart the love of liberty. Yes, when God cre- 
ated man, when He gave him life. He linked to life 
the love of liberty, and what God hath joined together 
let no man put asunder. We have received great 
blessings from God and from all the world, and 
wdiat is our duty? We cannot make return to those 
from whom those gifts were received. It is not in our 
power to make return to the Father above. Nor can we 
make return to those who have sacrificed so much for 
our advancement. The child can never make full re- 
turn to the mother whose life trembled in the balance 
at its birth, and whose kindness and care guarded it 
in all the years of infancy. The student cannot make 
full return to the teacher who awakened the mind, 
and aroused an ambition for a broader intellectual 
life. The adult cannot make full return to the patri- 
arch whose noble life gave inspiration and incentive. 
So a generation cannot make return to the generation 
gone; it must make its return to the generations to 
come. Our nation must discharge its debt not to the 
dead, but to the living. How can our country dis- 



THE REAL BRYAN 63 

charge this great debt? In but one way, and that is 
by giving to the world something equal in value to 
that which it has received from the world. And what 
is the greatest gift that man can bestow upon man? 
Feed a man and he will hunger again ; give him cloth- 
ing and his clothing will wear out; but give him a 
noble ideal, and that ideal will be with him through 
every waking hour, lifting him to a higher plane of 
life, and giving him a broader conception of his rela- 
tions to his fellows. [From speech delivered at ban- 
quet given to Ambassador Choate, London, November 
26, 1903.] 



THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM 

- One thought often comes to the mind as the dif- 
ferent scenes are visited, viz., that a visit to the Holy 
Land makes it easier to understand many Bible pas- 
sages and gives added significance to others. We have 
seen the barren fig tree and the fruitful vine ; we havo 
seen the lame and the blind, and have met the leper 
at the gate; we have seen the tiny lamp, such as the 
wise and foolish virgins carried — lamps that need often 
to be refilled ; and we have seen the 'Svhited sepulchres," 
"full of dead men^s bones." We have been impressed 
with the life-giving power of a fountain in a barren 
land and can more fully realize the force of the prom- 
ise that the man v;ho delighteth '^in the law of the 
Lord" shall be like ''a tree planted by the rivers of 
water." 



64 THE REAL BRYAN 

But no part of the Old Testament has been brought 
more vividly to our minds than the Twenty-third 
Psalm. Life is much the same here today as it was 
two, three, four thousand years ago, and we have 
seen innumerable flocks and have watched the sheep 
following the shepherd with confidence as he, staff in 
hand, led them into new pastures or from hillside to. 
stream. No animal is more helpless than the sheep 
and no guardian more tender than the shepherd. The 
sheep know their master's voice, and we have several 
times seen a she|)herd carrying a lamb in his arms. 
The hills about Jerusalem,' the springs, the shepherds 
and their flocks, will rise before us whenever we read 
again : 

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Ho 
maketh me to lie down in green })astures; He leadeth 
me beside the still waters." [From letter on Jerusa- 
lem.] 



THE MOUNT OY lUCATITUDES 

There is nolhing to deterniino just where the Ser- 
mon on the Mount was delivered, but because the 
Horns of Hat tin have been associated with that won- 
derful discourse, I v.a- anxiors to visit the place. There 
is no road leading to tins eininenee and the bridle 
paths can scarcely be followed, '.riio ground is cov- 
ered I'.y boulders and broken stones, half concealed by 
grass a: id tlii-tle* and ilowers. Tlie guide stepjied over 
a lan\^ si^ake before vre liad ^one far, and as it was 



THE KEAL BRYAN 65 

of a very poisonous variety, he felt tliat he had had a 
narrow escape. From a distance the top of the hill is 
saddle-shaped, and the two horns have given it its 
name, but on the top there is a large circular basin 
probably two hundred yards in diameter, and the rim 
of this basin was once walled and a citadel built there. 

The view from this mount is one of the most beauti- 
ful I have ever seen. To the north, Ilermon rises in 
grandeur, his summit covered with snow; the inter- 
vening space is filled with hills except in the immedi- 
ate foreground where the sea of Galilee sparkles in the 
sun. At the foot of the mount stretches a verdant 
valley, and from the valley a defile runs down to the 
sea. This opening gives a view of the shore where 
Capernaum and Bethsaida are supposed to have stood, 
and one of the roads from the sea to Nazareth fol- 
lows the stream which flows through this defile. On 
the opposite side of the Mount, Tabor can be seen, and 
beyond, the hills of Samaria. There is inspiration 
in this commingling of hill and vale and sea and 
sky. 

Whether, as a matter of fact, Christ, ''seeing the 
multitude," ascended to this place I know not, but it 
furnishes an environment fit for the. sublime code of 
morality prasented in the Sermon on the Mount. No 
other philosophy has ever touched so high a point or 
presented so noble a conception of human life. In it 
purity of heart is made the test, mercy is enjoined, 
humility emphasized, forgiveness commanded and love 
made the law of action. In that Sermon He pointed 
out the beginnings of evil, rebuked thase who allow 



66 THE REAL BRYAN 

themselves to be engrossed by the care of the body and 
gave to the world a brief, simple and incomparable 
prayer which the Christian world repeats in unison. 
If in other places He relieved those whose sufferings 
came through the infirmities of the flesh, He here of- 
fered a balm for the healing of the nations. [From 
letter on Galilee.^ 



IMITATION 



Both individuals and nations borrow; imitation, not 
originality, is the rule. It will humble the pride of 
anyone to attempt to separate that whicih he has 
learned from others from that which he can claim as 
his own by right of discovery. 

Steam is the same today that it was ages ago, and 
yet millions watched it escaping from the kettle with 
no thought of its latent power. One man showed man- 
kind the use to which it could be put and all the rest 
profited by the idea. Shall we refuse to ride upon the 
railroad or cross the waters in an ocean greyhound 
for fear of employing the conception of another? 
Electricity is not a new agency. The lightnings have 
illumined the sky from the dawn of creation, and the 
people saw in them only cause for fear. A few decades 
ago one man thought out a method by which it could 
be imprisoned in a wire, and now widely separated 
lands are united by telegraph lines, while cables 
traverse the ocean's bed. Shall we refuse to read the 
news that tiie current carries or reject a message fro mi 



THE REAL BRYAN 67 

home because we must employ an idea which sprang 
from another's brain? He is stupid who rejects truth, 
no matter from what source it comes; that nation is 
bHnd which does not welcome light from anywhere and 
everywhere. It is to the glory, not to the shame, of 
the land of the Rising Sun that her people have been 
quick to obey the injunction, "Prove all things; hold 
fast that which is good." [From letter on Japan.] 



CONFUCIANISM 

China has followed an ideal and followed it wdth a 
diligence rarely exhibited, but that ideal has been 
weighed in the balance and found wanting. It is often 
said in defense of Confucianism that its founder gave 
to his disciples the golden rule, stated in its negative 
form, but too little emphasis has been given to the 
difference between the doctrine of Confucius, "Do not 
unto others as you would not have others do unto you," 
and, the doctrine of the Nazarene, "Whatsoever ye 
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them." There is a world of difference between nega- 
tive harmlessness and positive helpfulness, and Christi- 
anity could well afford to rest its case against Con- 
fucianism on the comparison of these two doctrines. 

In the Analects of Confucius the philosopher is 
asked, "Is there one word which may serve as a rule of 
practice for all one's life?" He was answered, "Is not 
reciprocity such a word?" Here we have the doctrine 



68 THE REAL BRYAN 

of selfishness as plausibly presented as it will ever be 
again. Life is described as a balancing of favors — a 
nice calculation of good done and good received. There 
is no suggestion here of a heart overflowing with love, 
no intimation of a blessedness to be found in giving. 
At another time someone asked Confucius, "What 
do you say concerning the principle that injury should 
be recompensed with kindness?" He replied, ''With 
what, then, will you recompense kindness? Recom- 
pense injury with justice and recompense kindness, 
with kindness." In reply to another question, he goes 
so far as to charge that one 'Svho returns good for evil 
is a man that is careful of his person." How different 
these precepts are from those of the Sermon on the 
Mount! Christians are accused of failure to live up to 
the high ideal presented by Jesus, and the accusation is 
just and yet, although the Christian nations fall far 
short of the measure which the\^ themselves recognize, 
although professing Christians reflect but imperfectly 
the rays which fall upon them from the Sun of 
Righteousness, they are leading the world in all that is 
ennobling and uplifting, and China gives silent recog- 
nition to the superiority of the western ideal in every 
reform which she undertakes. [From letter on 
China. 1 



''SERMONS IN STONES" 

There are "sermons in stones" and the stones of this 
canyon preach many impressive ones. They not only 



THE REAL BRYAN 69 

testify to the omnipotence of the Creator but they 
record the story of a stream which both moulds, and is 
moulded by, its environment. It can not escape from 
the walls of its prison and yet it has made its impress 
upon the granite as, in obedience to the law of gravi- 
tation, it has gone dashing and foaming on its path to 
the sea. 

How like a human life I Man, flung into existence with- 
out his volition, bearing the race-mark of his parents, 
carrying the impress of their lives to the day of his 
death, hedged about by an environment that shapes 
and moulds him before he is old enough to plan or 
choose, how these constrain and hem him in! And 
yet, he too, leaves hLs mark upon all that he touches 
as he travels, in obedience to his sense of duty, the 
path that leads from the cradle to the grave. But 
here the likeness ends. The Colorado, pure and clear 
in the mountains, becomes a dark and muddy flood be- 
fore it reaches the ocean, so contaminated is it by the 
soil through which it passes ; but man, if controlled by 
a noble purpose and inspired by high ideals, may 
purify, rather than be polluted by his surroundings, 
and by resistance to temptation make the latter end 
of his life more beautiful even than the beginning. 

The river also teaches a sublime lesson of patience. 
It has taken ages for it to do its work and in that 
work every drop of water has played its part. It takes 
time for individuals or groups of individuals to accom- 
plish a great work and because time is required those 
who labor in behalf of their fellows sometimes become 
discouraged. Nature teaches us to labor and to wait. 



70 THE REAL BRYAN 

Viewed from day to day the progress of the race is 
imperceptible ; viewed from year to year, it can scarcely 
be noted, but viewed by decades or centuries the up- 
ward trend is apparent, and every good work and word 
and thought contributes toward the final result. As 
nothing is lost in the economy of nature, so nothing is 
lost in the social and moral world. As the stream is 
composed of an innumerable number of rivulets, each 
making its little offering and each necessary to make 
up the whole, so the innumerable number of men and 
women who recognize their duty to society and their 
obligations to their fellows are contributing according 
to their strength to the sum total of the forces that 
make for righteousness and progress. [Neivspaper 
article on ''Wonders of the West/' referring 'particu- 
larly to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, in northern 
Arizona/] 



TWO SYSTEMS 

Japan needs the Christian religion; a nation must 
have some religion and she has outgrown Buddhism. 
The ideals presented by these two systems are in many 
respects diametrically opposed to each other. One 
looks forward, the other backward; one regards life 
as a blessing to be enjoyed and an opportunity to be 
improved, the other sees in it only evil from which 
escape should be sought ; one crowns this life with im- 
mortality, the other adds to a gloomy existence the 
darker night of annihilation; one offers faith as the 



THE REAL BRYAN 71 

inspiration to noble deeds, the other presents a plan for 
the perfecting of self with no sense of responsibility 
to God to prompt it or promise of reward to encourage 
it; one enlarges the sympathies and links each indi- 
vidual with all other human beings, the other turns 
thought inward in search of perpetual calm. [From 
letter on Japan.] 



DEATH 



This endless procession has been moving on towards 
one goal, from the time when man was placed upon 
this footstool to carry out a divine decree; and there 
is no turning back from this way. No one is rich 
enough to purchase immunity, and no one so poor as 
to escape notice. No one is strong enough to resist 
the grim reaper, and no one so weak as to excite his 
pity. 

There is a time when death might seem a natural 
visitor; in extreme old age. When the joints become 
stiff and the flesh wastes away; when the eyes grow 
dim and the ears no longer drink in the music of the 
voice. Then it might seem that death were an appro- 
priate thing. But how few reach advanced age. A 
large percentage of the human race — a larger per 
cent than need be — die young. The summons comes 
to the very babe before its infinite possibilities begin 
to unfold; the summons comes when it has no coin 
with which to make payment for the care it secures, 
except the smile, and the smile remains when the face 



72 THE REAL BRYAN 

is gone. Sometimes the summons comes to the student 
just completing an education, prepared with trained 
mind and lofty purposes to take up the work of life — 
but the diploma is no answer to the summons. Again 
it comes to the mother; the child on her breast pleads 
for her, and the child at her knee clenches his chubby 
fist in defiance, but in vain ; they must grow up without 
the knowledge of a mother's love. And now it is the 
man in the full strength of life, bearing a double bur- 
den and dividing his attention between the home and 
the state; he staggers and falls, and those who convey 
his remains to the cemetery try to comfort those whom 
he has left, and endeavor to divide among them the 
public task which he has left unfinished. Sometimes 
the cup comes to the lips of one whose whitened locks 
record the passing of many winters ; his ripe experience 
has made him a treasure house from which wisdom can 
be drawn, and his spiritual wealth is a benediction to 
the home, and makes him a tower of strength to the 
church, but the chair by the fireside is vacated. Why 
is it that there must be this rude sundering of the ties 
that bind us to earth, and to each other? Why? A 
myriad of times this question has risen from broken 
hearts, and still no answer. I shall not attempt to 
answer it. But I can say in the language of the poet: 

I do not see 
AVhy God should e'en permit some things to be, 

When He is love; 

But I can see, 
Though, often dimly, through the mystery, 

His hand above! 



THE REAL BRYAN 73 

And that hand has inscribed some lessons upon the 
tomb so clear and plain that all may read them. 

Death, by its very uncertainty, teaches us to use the 
present hour. If we were assured of three score years 
and ten we might yield to the temptation to postpone 
everything to the later years. But the fact that we 
know not the day nor the hour when the call may 
come to us forces us to use today lest tomorrow may 
not arrive. 

And, then, death reminds us of our weakness. Man 
was made in the image of his Creator, and given do- 
minion over the earth, the air and sea. — made but a 
little lower than the angels, and behold the work of 
man's hand! He has harne^ed the forces of nature 
and compelled them to do his bidding. He has con- 
verted the waterfalls into motive power; he ha^ con- 
densed the steam and commanded it to draw the com- 
merce of a nation over the iron highways; his ships 
plough all the oceans, and they follow their charts 
unerringly no matter how dark the night. He has im- 
prisoned the lightning in a tiny wire and sent it around 
the globe as his messenger, and he has even flung his 
words through space and imprinted them on instru- 
ments hundreds of miles away. No wonder man is 
boastful, and yet just as he imagines himself almost 
omnipotent, just as he reaches out to seize the crown, 
death touches him, or one he loves, and then he realizes 
how helpless he is. 

Death turns our thoughts toward immortality. 
Heaven never seems so real to us as when it becomes 
the abode of someone whom we have known and loved. 



74 THE REAL BRYAN 

When our treasures are there we can easily believe 
that no heart warmed to a glow by ihe fire of brotherly 
love will suffer an eternal chill, that no spiritual flame, 
that grows brighter with the years, will be extinguished 
never to shine again. [From address delivered at Elk's 
Lodge of Sorrow, Lincoln, Neb., December 2, 1906.] 



THE IDEAL REPUBLIC 

I can conceive of a national destiny surpassing the 
glories of the present and the past — a destiny which 
meets the responsibilities of today and measures up the 
possibilities of the future. 

Behold a republic, resting securely upon the founda- 
tion stones quarried by revolutionary patriots from the 
mountain of eternal truth — a republic applying in 
practice and proclaiming to the world the self-evident 
proposition that all men are created equal; that they 
are endowed with inalienable rights ; that governments 
are instituted among men to secure these rights; that 
governments derive their just powers from the con- 
sent of the governed. 

Behold a republic in which civil and religious liberty 
stimulate all to earnest endeavor, and in which the law 
restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbor's injury — 
a republic in which every citizen is sovereign, but in 
which no one cares to wear a crown. 

Behold a republic standing erect, while empires all 
around are bowed beneath the weight of their own 



THE REAL BRYAN 75 

armaments — a republic whose flag is loved, while other 
flags are only feared. 

Behold a republic increasing in population, in 
w^ealth, in strength and in influence, solving the prob- 
lems of civilization and hastening the coming of a 
universal brotherhood — a republic which shakes 
thrones and dissolves aristocracies by it^ silent example, 
and gives light and inspiration to those w^ho sit in 
darkness. 

Behold a republic gradually but surely becoming the 
supreme moral factor in the w^orld's progress and the 
accepted arbiter of the w^orld's disputes — a republic 
whose history, like the path of the just, ''is as the 
shining light that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day." [Indianapolis speech in 1900.] 



THE FLAG 



The flag is a national emblem and is obedient to 
the national will. It w^as made for the people, not 
the people for the flag. AYhen the American people 
w^ant the flag raised, they raise it; when they want it 
hauled down, they haul it down. The flag was raised 
upon Canadian soil during the war of 1812 and it was 
hauled down when peace was restored. The flag was 
planted upon Chapultepec during the war with Mexico 
and it was hauled down when the war was over. The 
morning papers announce that General Lee ordered the 
flag hauled down in Cuba yesterday, because it was 



76 THE REAL BRYAN 

raised too soon. The flag will be raised in Cuba again 
on the 1st of January, but the President declarers in 
his naessage that it will be hauled down as soon as a 
stable government is established. Who will deny to 
our people the right to haul the flag down in the Phil- 
ippines, if they so desire, when a stable government is 
established there? 

Our flag stands for an indissoluble union of in- 
destructible states. Every state is . represented by a 
star and every territory sees in the constitution a star 
of hope that will some day take its place in the con- 
stellation. What is there in the flag to awaken the 
zeal or reflect the aspirations of vassal colonies which 
are too good to be cast away, but not good enough to 
be admitted to the sisterhood of states? 

Shall we keep the Philippines and amend our flag? 
Shall we add a new star — the blood-star, Mars — to in- 
dicate that we have entered upon a career of con- 
quest? Or shall we borrow the yellow and paint Saturn 
and his rings, to suggest a carpet-bag government^ 
with its schemes of spoliation? Or shall we adorn our 
flag with a milky way composed of a multitude of 
minor stars representing remote and insignificant de- 
pendencies? 

No, a thousand times better that we haul down the 
stars and stripes and substitute the flag of an inde- 
pendent republic than surrender the doctrines that 
give glory to "Old Glory.'^ It was the flag of our 
fathers in the years that are gone ; it is the flag of our 
nation in the years that are to come. Its stripes of 
red tell of the blood that was shed to purchase liberty; 



THE REAL BRYAN 77 

its stripes of white proclaim the pure and heaven-born 
purpose of a government which derives its just powers 
from the consent of the governed. The mission of that 
flag is to float — not over a conglomeration of common- 
wealths and colonies — but over "the land of the free 
and the home of the brave;" and to that mission it 
must remain forever true — forever true. [Extract 
from speech delivered at Lincoln, Neb., December 23, 
1898.] 



DESTINY 



Whenever a statesman is unable to defend a thing 
which he wants to have done, he usually hides behind 
the plea that it is destiny. That the readers of The 
Commoner may be able to answer this destiny argu- 
ment the following quotation is given from the ''Last 
of the Barons'' by Bulwer. William of Hastings is de- 
scribed as laying his sins at the door of destiny, and 
the author makes thii> comment: "It is destiny! — 
phrase of the weak human heart ! It is destiny ! Dark 
apology for every error! The strong and virtuous ad- 
mit no destiny! On earth guides conscience — in 
heaven, watches God. And destiny is but the phantom 
WQ invoke to silence the one, to dethrone the other!" 

Each man's destiny is in his own hands so far as 
his moral progress is concerned. If a man is going to 
be a thief, circumstances may determine whether it is 
his destiny to escape punishment or to be caught, but 
the man decides for himself the all-important question 



78 THE REAL BRYAN 

whether he will be a thief. And so circumstances may 
determine how much profit or how little profit a coun- 
try can find in a policy of imperialism, but the country 
itself must decide — the people or those whom the peo- 
ple permit to speak for them — what the policy of the 
country will be. Destiny is indeed the dark apology 
for many national errors. [From an editorial in The 
Commoner.'] 



EDUCATION 

A cablegram from Manila says : 'The first bill was 
passed by the Philippine assembly today. It appro- 
priates one million dollars for the construction of 
schools throughout the provinces. The bill was passed 
unanimously. Isauro Gabaldon, a national member, 
who was the author of the first law, proposed several 
other measures at the same time that he introduced the 
school bill into the assembly. His measures included 
bills to construct a capital building, and to cancel the 
indebtedness of provinces and municipalities to the 
insular government. It was unanimously decided to 
inaugurate legislation with the school bill." 

It is a good sign that Philippine legislation began 
with an educational bill, and what is better this sig- 
nificant course was adopted unanimously. 

By wise action the Philippine assembly can 
strengthen the sentiment in favor of independence and 
give complete answer to the imperialists who say that 
the Filipinos are only half-civilized and incapable of 



THE REAL BRYAN 79 

self-government. [From an editorial in The Com- 
moner.} 

An education is incomplete which does not place a 
noble purpose behind mental training and make the 
hands willing to work. The work should ultimately 
be the largest work of which the hands are capable, 
but at all times it should be the work that most needs 
to be done. That education is also defective which so 
inflames one's vanity or so shrivels one's heart as to 
separate him in sympathy from his fellows. Educa- 
tion has been known to do this — yes, education has 
even been known to make a graduate ashamed of his 
parents. A Chicago paper recently reported such a 
case. A mother who had been denied the advantages 
of the schools, but who had by economy and sacrifice 
enabled her son to attend college, visited him after he 
had established himself in the practice of the law. She 
had looked forward for years to his success, and started 
upon her visit with great expectations. She soon 
learned, however, that her presence embarrassed her 
son — that he did not want his clients to know that she 
was his mother. Her heart was broken, and as she 
waited at the depot alone for the train that would bear 
her back to her humble home, she poured forth her 
sorrow in a letter. If I thought that any of those who 
receive their diplomas on this glad day would allow 
their superior advantages to lessen their affection for 
their parents or to decrease their devotion to them, I 
would wish them children again. Better loving com- 
panionship than intellectual solitude, but there is no 



80 THE REAL BRYAN 

reason why the scholar should be less a son or daugh- 
ter. Head and heart should be developed together, 
and then each forward step will bring increasing joy, 
strengthen family ties and make early friendship more 
sacred. 

If he is culpable who shrinks from full participation 
in the work of this struggling world, or shirks the 
responsibilities w^hich he is by education prepared to 
assume, still more culpable are those who, by employ- 
ing their talents against society, prey upon those who 
supplied their training. If by force or fraud or cun- 
ning one seeks to appropriate to his own use that which 
he has not earned, he turns against the public the 
weapons put into his hand by the public for the pro- 
motion of the common weal. [Address entitled ''Man," 
delivered at Commencement Day exercises, Nebraska 
State University, June 15, 1905.'] 



THE SPRING AS AN ILLUSTRATION 

Those who attempt to construct the world without 
reference to the spiritual forces which are at work de- 
fend altruism on the ground that it is an enlightened 
self-interest; they contend that the doing of good to 
others, even sacrificing for others, yields a reward in 
pleasure. The difficulty about the philosophy that rests 
upon such calculations is, first, that it is impossible for 
one to look far enough ahead to form any accurate 
opinion as to the time or manner in which the reward 



THE REAL BRYAN 81 

is to come, and second, that time spent in calculation- 
can better be spent in acting. The person who at- 
tempts to keep a book account of the good he does, 
does not, a? a rule, do enough good to justify an entry 
in the book ; the spirit that leads him to keep the 
account continually hampers him in his work. Life- 
is made up of an innumerable number of small acts, 
not considered worth doing by those who are guided' 
by selfish considerations. Of the countless millions 
of kind and generous act^s done, but few wouM have 
been done had it been necessary to reason out just in 
what way the bread ''cast upon the waters'' Avould 
return. 

The spring is the best illustration of a life con- 
forming to the Christian ideal. As the spring pours 
forth constantly of that which refreshes and invigor- 
ates, seeking nothing in return, and asking not who 
is to be the recipient of its bounty, so a life conse- 
crated to a noble purpose pours forth a constant flood 
of helpfulness; and man is as little able to follow 
through succeeding generations the good that he does 
as the spring is to trace the refreshing influence of its 
vv^aters. [Address entitled ''Man/' delivered at Com- 
mencement Day exercises, Nebraska State University, 
June IS, 1905.'] 



FORCE 



Is it the desire of any simply to make our flag 
feared? Let us rather make it loved by every human 



82 THE REAL BRYAN 

being. Instead of having people bow before it, let us 
have them turn their faces toward it and thank God 
that there is one flag that stands for human rights and 
for the doctrine of self-government everywhere. There 
are some who say that we must now have the largest 
navy in the world in order to terrorize other nations, 
and make them respect us. But if we make our navy 
the largest in the world, other nations will increase 
their navies because we have increased ours, and then 
we will have to increase ours again because they will 
have increased theirs, and they will have to increase 
theirs again because we have increased ours — and there 
is no limit to this rivalry but the limit of the power 
of the people to bear the burdens of taxation. 

There is a better, a safer and a less expensive plan. 
Instead of trying to make our navy the largest in the 
world, let us try to make our government the best 
government on earth. Instead of trying to make our 
flag float everywhere, let us make it stand for justice 
wherever it floats — for justice between man and man, 
for justice between nation and nation, and for hu- 
manity always. And then the people of the world will 
learn to know and to revere that flag, because it will 
be their protection as well as ours. And then if any 
king raises his hand against our flag, the oppressed 
people of his own land will rise up and say to him 
''Hands off! That flag stands for our rights as well 
as the rights of the American people.'' It is possible 
to make our flag represent such an ideal. We shall 
not fulfill our great mission, we shall not live up to 
our high duty, unless we present to the world the 



THE REAL BRYAN 83 

highest ideals in individual life, in domestic life, in 
business life, in professional life, in political life — 
and the highest national ideal that the world has ever 
known. [From lecture entitled ''Value of An Ideal/'] 



MARKHAM'S TRIBUTE TO LINCOLN 

Markham to a remarkable degree possesses the 
poetic faculty of embalming a beautiful sentiment in 
beautiful language, so that his words linger in the 
memory. His tribute to Lincoln, like Gray's Elegy, 
idealizes the homely and familiar things that are a part 
of the existence of all. He ennobles Lincoln by making 
him one of the common people and by exalting the 
real elem.ents of his greatness. 

Where can we find such a collection of beautiful 
and appropriate similes? 

The rectitude and patience of the rocks ; 
The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn ; 
The courage of the bird that dares the sea; 
The justice of the rain that loves all leaves ; 
The pity of the snow that hides all scars ; 
The loving kindness of the wayside w^ell; 
The tolerance and equity of light. 

Here are seven lines, each setting forth a virtue that 
w^ould immortalize a man, and all, like the parables, are 
suggested by the every-day things of life. 



84 THE REAL BRYAN 

It is a rare gift to be able to see the things around 
us, a rarer gift to be able to utilize them in speech or 
prose, and a still rarer gift to be able to clothe them 
in the resplendent language of poesy. Markham has 
an equipment of head and heart that fits him to por- 
tray a character that could combine rectitude, patience, 
gladness, courage, equity, tolerance, pity and loving 
iindness. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



AMERICAN MONEY ABROAD 

Our forefathers decided that titles were dangerous 
to liberty, and it is to be regretted that the patriotism 
of Revolutionary days has given place to a disgraceful 
scramble, among the daughters of some of our multi- 
millionaires, for lords and dukes and counts. 

When an Englishman or Frenchman or other 
foreigner, with nothing to commend him but a title 
inherited from a remote ancestor (and possibly re- 
tained only because it could not be pawned), reaches 
majority, he embarks for the United States and enters 
into negotiations for some marriageable heiress or 
heiress-apparent. Instead of teaching their daughters 
to regard with favor the suits of worthy sons of this 
country, too many ambitious parents lead their daugh- 
ters into the market-place, and seek to barter a fortune 
for a crown. 

Love may leap across the ocean and join in holy 
wedlock "two hearts that beat as one," but social am- 



THE REAL BRYAN 85 

hition and hereditary avarice can never weld two hearts 
into home-building material. 

When Cupid becomes a boodler, and courtship is 
carried on by brokers, marriage is a mockery. 

It is significant that poor American girls, however 
accomplished, have no charms for impecunious noble- 
men. It is also a source of congratulation that Ameri- 
can sons do not seek foreign alliances. It is a shame 
that some American daughters do. [From editorial 
in Omaha World-Herald, Nov. 3, 189o.] 



MIRACLES 



Miracle of miracles is man! Most helpless of all 
God's creatures in infancy; most powerful when fully 
developed, and interesting always. Led in youth by 
the parent's hand, he becomes during maturity the 
staff of those who led him, and in age he is again 
helpless and must look for assistance to his children 
and his children's children. He is ever both instructor 
and pupil, teaching while he is being taught, daily 
exerting an influence while he receives impres-ions 
from his environment and carrying through life a 
power to help and harm, little less than infinite. 

AVhat incalculable space between a statue, however 
flawless the marble, however faultless the workman- 
ship, and a human being "aflame vnih the passion of 
eternity!'' If the statue cannot, like a human being, 
bring the gray hairs of a parent ''in sorrow to the 



86 THE KEAL BRYAN 

grave/' or devastate a nation, or with murderous hand 
extinguish the vital spark in a fellow-being, neither 
can it, like a human being, minister to suffering man- 
kind, nor scatter gladness "o'er a smiling land" nor 
yet claim the blessing promised in the Sermon on the 
Mount. Only to man, made in the divine likeness, 
is given the awful power to choose between measure- 
less success and immeasurable woe. [From address 
entitled ^'Man" delivered at Commencement Day ex- 
ercises, Nebraska State University, June 15, 1905.} 



A LIVING FOUNTAIN 

Jeremiali gave to literature a beautiful and striking 
figure when, in charging the children of Israel with 
apostasy, he said : 

"They have forsaken me, the fountain of living wa- 
ters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, 
that can hold no water." 

One is reminded of this forcible simile today when 
a large number of our people seem inclined to turn 
back to the once discarded doctrine of empires. To 
compare self-government with an arbitrary form of 
government is like comparing a living fountain with 
a broken cistern. 

When the people are recognized as the source of 
power the government is perpetual, because the people 
endure forever. The government then responds to 
their desires and conforms to their character; it can 



THE REAL BRYAN 87 

be made as good as they deserve to have and they are 
satisfied with it because it is their own handiwork. 
If it has evils those evils are endured, because the peo- 
ple recognize that they themselves are to blame and 
that it is within their power to apply any needed 
remedy. 

A government resting on force is, on the other hand, 
ever unstable because it excites hatred rather than 
affection and is continually at war with human nature. 
It is in constant antagonism to that universal senti- 
ment w^hich is defined as the love of liberty. 

All history sustains the self-evident truths which 
form the foundation of a government deriving its 
just powers from the consent of the governed. All 
history condemns a political structure which appeals 
only to fear and relies upon bayonets for its support. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.} 



SERVICE 



That which is told in story by the ancient philoso- 
pher is set forth in the form of an injunction by the 
Master, for when his disciples asked who should be 
greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he answered: ''Let 
him who would be chiefest among you be the servant 
of all." Thus, if we seek authority from history — 
whether profane or sacred — we find that he is the 
greatest who does the most of good. This is the law 
from which there is no appeal — a law confirmed by 



88 THE KEAL BRYAN 

all experience, a law proved by the inscriptions upon 
the monuments reared by grateful hands to those 
whom the world calls great. 

And what an opportunit}- for service this age pre- 
sents 1 If I had my choice of all the ages in which to 
live, I would cJioose the present above all others. The 
ocean steamer and the railway train bring all the 
corners of the earth close together, while the telegraph 
— wire and wireless — gives wings to the news and 
makes the events of each day known in every land 
during the following night. The printing press has 
popularized knowledge and made it possible for each 
one who desires it to possess a key to the libraries of 
the world. Invention has multiplied the strength of 
the human arm and brought within the reach of the 
masses comforts which, until recently, even wealth 
could not buy. The word "neighborhood" no longer 
■describes a community; that "all ye are brethren" 
^ean be more readily comprehended than ever before. 
It is easier for one to distribute blessings to the world 
today than it was a few centuries ago to be helpful 
to the residents of a single valley. A good example 
set anywhere can be seen everywhere, so intimate has 
become the relation between man and man. 

And yet with the wonderful spread of knowledge 
and the marvelous range of achievement, there is vast 
work to be done. Conscience has not kept pace with 
commerce, nor has moral growth increased with the 
growth of wealth. The extremes of society have been 
driven farther and farther apart, and the chord of 
sympathy between rich and poor is greatly strained. 



THE REAL BRYAN 89 

Destitution and squalor lurk in the shadow of palaces, 
and great lawbreakers vie with petty thieves in ignor- 
ing the statutes" of the state. The instrumentalities of 
government are being used for public plunder, and 
those who make fortunes through legislation employ a 
tithe of their winnings for the corruption of the 
sources of public opinion. Not only is a bribe dangled 
before the eyes of the indigent voter, but those who 
profit through the control of the government do not 
hesitate to subsidize newspapers and to scatter their 
hush money wherever a protest can be silenced. The 
opportunity is here and the field inviting. [From ad- 
dress entitled ''Man/' delivered at the Commencement 
Day exercises, Nebraska State University, June 15, 
1905.'] 



THE TOMB OF NAPOLEON 

You cannot visit Paris without being made familiar 
with the face of the "Little Corsican," for it stares at 
you from the shop windows and looks down at you 
from the walls of palaces and galleries. 

You see the figure of "the man of destiny'^ in mar- 
ble and bronze, sometimes on a level with the eye, 
sometimes piercing the sky, as it does in the Place Ven- 
dome where it is perched on top of a lofty column 
whose pedestal and sides are covered with panels in 
relief made from cannon captured by Napoleon in 
battle. 

The gigantic Arch of Triumph on the Champs 



90 THE REAL BRYAN 

Elysees, commenced by Napoleon in commemoration 
of his succes:?e;?, testifier to the splendor of his con- 
ceptions. 

But overshadowing all other Napoleonic monuments 
is his tomb on the banks of the Seine, adjoining the 
Invalidcs. Its gilded dome attracts attention from 
afar, and on nearer approach one is charmed with the 
strength of its walls and the symmetry of its propor- 
tions. At the door the guard cautions the thoughtless 
to enter with uncovered head, but the admonition is 
seldom necessary, for an air of solemnity pervades the 
place. In the center of the rotunda, beneath the 
frescoed vault of the great dome, is a circular crypt. 
Leaning over the heavy marble balustrade I gazed on 
the massive sarcophagus below, which contains all that 
was mortal of that marvelous combination of intellect 
and will. The sarcophagiis is made of dark red por- 
phyry, a fitly chosen stone that might have been col- 
ored by the mingling of the intoxicating wine of 
ambition with the blood spilled to satisfy it. 

Looking down upon the sarcophagus and the stands 
of tattered battle-flags that surround it, I reviewed the 
tragic career of this grand master of the art of slaugh- 
ter, and weighed, as best I could, the claims made for 
him by his friends. And then I found myself won- 
dering what the harvest might have been had Na- 
poleon's genius led him along peaceful paths, had the 
soil of Europe been stirred by the plowshare rather 
than by his trenchant blade, and the reaping done by 
implements less destructive than his shot and shell. 

Just beyond and above the entombed emperor stands 



THE REAL BRYAN 91 

a cross upon which hangs a life-size figure of the 
Christ, flooded by a mellow lemon-colored light, which 
pours through the stained glass windows of the chapel. 
I know not whether it was by accident or design that 
this god of war thus sleeps, as it were, at the very feet 
of the Prince of Peace. Whether so intended or not, 
it will, to those who accept the teachings of the Sermon 
on the Mount, symbolize love's final victory over force, 
and the triumph of that philosophy which finds hap- 
piness in helpful service and glory in doing good. 
[From letter on France.] 



SECRET INFLUENCE 

The people have nothing to fear from open enemies. 
The man who boldly proclaims a principle, no matter 
what it may be, can do but little injury. No amount 
of intellect, learning or eloquence can make him dan- 
gerous. As Jefferson has expressed it, "Error of 
opinion may be tolerated where reason it left free to 
combat it." Truth grows in the open field; the sun- 
shine nourishes and strengthens it. It is secret influ- 
ence which is constantly corrupting government and 
securing special privileges for the few at the expense 
of the many. The man who advocates a thing which 
he believes to be good for the people as a whole has no 
reason to conceal his purpose; but the man who tries 
to secure an advantage which he knows to be benefi- 



92 THE REAL BRYAISl 

cial to some class or combination but hurtful to the 
public, naturally and necessarily employs stealth. 

Would the directors of a railroad company adopt 
and publish a resolution designating their favorite 
candidate for the legislature, congress, the senate or the 
bench? Would they candidly set forth why they 
wanted him and what they expected of him after they 
got him? And yet it is well known that railroads 
often take an active part in the selection of public 
officials. 

Would the directors of a trust adopt and publish a 
resolution naming the presidential candidate they 
would support and announcing the contribution they 
would make to the campaign fund? And yet it is 
certain that the trusts have in the past interested them- 
selves in campaigns. 

Eternal vigilance is the price of protection against 
bad laws and misrule as well as the price of liberty. 
Since laws are made, construed and enforced by public 
officials, it is necessary that great care should be exer- 
cised in the selection of them in order that they, w^hen 
selected, shall guard the interests of the whole people 
and not be the mere agents of some corporation. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.'\ 



LOVE'S FESTIVAL 

Christmas is love's festival. Set apart for the com- 
memoration of God's gift of His Son it has grown 



THE REAL BR^AN 93 

into a great holiday which is observed throughout 
Christendom by rich and poor alike. Even those who 
refuse to take upon themselves the vows of any church 
are constrained to join in the beautiful custom which 
makes both parents and children look forward to this 
da}^ with pleasant anticipations. For weeks before De- 
cember 25th busy hands are at work, tiny savings 
banks are gathering in their sacred store and eager 
expectancy is written upon the faces of the young. To 
the boys and girls Santa Claus is a sort of composite 
donor who monopolizes the distribution of presents and 
who, reading the minds of his little friends, rewards 
the good (and all are good just before Christmas) with 
the very toys that they themselves have selected, while 
the older ones learn by experience that it is more 
blessed to give than to receive. Back of Christmas and 
the Christmas present is love, and the broad, brotherly 
love taught and exemplified by the Nazarene is not 
content with the remembrances which are exchanged 
as tokens of affection between members of the family 
and between intimate friends; it is compelling a widen- 
ing of the circle to include the poor and the needy 
though not of kith or kin. 

What an instructor love is! How it develops the 
one of whom it takes possession! It is the mightiest 
influence known among men. When once it is awak- 
ened it dissolves all opposition. Dr. Parkhurst, the New 
York clergyman, in illustrating the difference be- 
tween force and love said (quoted from memory) that 
force is the hammer which can break a block of ice 
into a thousand pieces but leaves each piece still ice, 



94 THE REAL BRYAN 

while love is the ray of sunlight which, though acting 
more slowly and silently, melts the ice. 

At this season of the year our thoughts turn to the 
contemplation of the new degree of love revealed to the 
world by Jesus. To the love between members of the 
family and love between friends He added an all- 
pervading love that includes every member of the 
human race. Even enemies are not beyond the bounds 
of this love, for mans puny arms are not strong enough 
to break the bonds that unite each son of God to all 
his brethren. "Love is not stupid,'' says Tolstoy. It 
makes known to us our duty to our fellows and it will 
some day rule the world. Force is the weapon of the 
animal in us; after it comes money, which the intellect 
employs, sometimes for good, sometimes for harm. But 
greater than all is love, the weapon of the heart. It 
is a sword that never rusts, neither does it break, and 
the wounds that it leaves are life-saving, not life-de- 
stroying. No armor can withstand it and no antago- 
nist can resist it. But why try to define this love or to 
measure its scope? Paul, the apostle, in his first epistle 
to the Corinthians describes it in language to which 
nothing can be added and from which nothing can be 
taken. Let his words suffice: 

"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 
but have not love, I am become sounding brass or 
clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, 
and know all the mysteries and all knowledge; and if 
I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have 
not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods 
to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned. 



THE REAL BRYAN 95 

but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. Love suf- 
fereth long, and is kind ; love envieth not ; love vaunteth 
not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself un- 
seemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh 
not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, 
but rejoiceth with the truth; beareth all things, be- 
lieveth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all 
things. Love never faileth; but whether there be 
prophecies, they shall be done away ; whether there be 
tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, 
it shall be done away with. For we know in part, and 
we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect 
is come, that which is in part shall be done away. 
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, 
I thought as a child; now that I am become a man I 
have put away childish things. For now we see in a 
mirror, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in 
part ; then shall I know^ even as also I have been known. 
But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three ; and the 
greatest of these is love." [Fror}i an editorial in The 
Commoner.] 



CRIMINAL SPECULATION 

If a crime is defined a>s an act the doing of which 
is prohibited by law, stock speculation cannot be con- 
sidered criminal, but when the w^ord crime is used in 
its broader sense to describe an act which offends against 
morality or the public welfare, it certainly includes 
that species of gambling upon the market which en- 



96 THE REAL BRYAN 

dangers the community as well as injures the partici- 
pants. A record of Wall Street's doings for the last 
week is an idictment against our boasted civilization. 
That such transactions are allowed is as much a re- 
flection upon the intelligence of the country as it is 
upon the conscience of the people. It is little less than 
amazing that a few men should be permitted to corner 
the market for their own selfish purposes, beat down 
the price of one stock and boom the price of another 
stock, demoralizing business and jeopardizing the in- 
terests of all classes of society. It is reported that the 
slump in stocks amounted to seven liundred millions 
in value, and that the New York banks had to put up 
nearly twenty millions of dollars to prevent a panic. 
How will the historian describe an age in which a petty 
thief is severely punished whi'le great criminals go un- 
whipped? It often takes an object lesson to arouse the 
people to the evils of a bad system and the recent fluc- 
tuations in the stock market, costly as they have been, 
will be cheap if they lead to legislation which will put 
an end to stock gambling, erroneously described as 
'^business." [From an editorial in The Commoner.} 



THE EFFICACY OF EXAMPLE 

If it is legitimate to ''seek another's profit" and "to 
work another's gain," how can this service best be ren- 
dered? This has been the disputed point. Individuals 
and nations have differed less about the purpose to 



THE REAL BRYAN 97 

be accomplished than about the methods to be em- 
]oloyed. Persecutions have been carried on avowedly 
for the benefit of the persecuted, wars have been waged 
for the alleged improvement of those attacked, and 
still more frequently philanthropy has been adulterated 
with selfish interest. If the superior nations have a 
mission it is not to wound but to heal — not to cast 
down but to lift up, and the means must be example — 
a far more powerful and enduring means than vio- 
lence. Example may be likened to the sun whose 
genial rays constantly coax the buried seed into life 
and clothe the earth, first with verdure and after^vard 
with ripened grain, while violence is the occasional 
tempest which can ruin but cannot give life. 

Can we doubt the efBcacy of example in the light of 
history? There has been great increase in education 
during the last century and the school houses have 
not been opened by the bayonet; they owe their ex- 
istence largely to the moral influence which neighbor- 
ing nations exert upon each other. And the spread 
of popular government during the same period, }k)w 
rapid ! Constitution after constitution has been adopted 
and limitation after limitation has been placed upon 
arbitrary power until Russia, yieldin.o; to public opin- 
ion, establishes a legislative body and China sends com- 
missions abroad wdth a view to inviting the people to 
share the responsibilities of government. 

While in America and in Europe there is much to 
be corrected and abundant room for improvement there 
has never been so much altruLsm in the world as there 
is today — never fo many who acknowledge the in- 



98 THE HEAL BRYAN 

dissoluble tie that binds each to every other member 
of the race. I have felt more pride in my own coun- 
trymen than ever before as I have visited the circuit 
of schools, hospitals and churches which American 
money has built around the world. The example of 
the Christian nations, though but feebly reflecting the 
light of the Master, is gradually reforming society. 

On the walls of the temple at Karnak an ancient 
artist carved a picture of an Egyptian king. He is 
represented as holding a group of captives by the hair 
— one hand raising a club as if to strike them. No 
king would be willing to confess himself so cruel 
today. In some of the capitals of Europe there are 
moiuunents built from, or ornamented with, cannon 
taken in w\ar. That form of boasting is still tolerated 
but let us hope that it will in time give way to some 
emblem of victory which will imply helpfulness rather 
than slaughter. [From address entitled ''The White 
Man's Burden/' delivered before The American So- 
ciety, London, July If., 1906.] 



THE BUZZARD AND THE BEE 

The buzzard has a strong beak, a capacious stomach 
and a ravenous appetite. It sometimes soars in grace- 
ful circles above the haunts of men, but it is always 
looking for something to eat. Its eye is sharp and its 
scent is keen, but all its energies are employed in pro- 
curing food — and it is not very discriminating in its 



TliE REAL BRYAN 99 

taste. In fact, it revels in carrion while it lives and 
when it dies leaves nothing but a foul odor to remind 
the world of its existence. 

The bee has an instinct for sweetness; it communes 
daily with buds and blossoms and lives amid the per- 
fume of the flowers. It sets an example of industry, 
patience and frugality; it fares well, but in addition 
to making its own living it leaves a storehouse full of 
honey to testify to its activity. 

Among human beings there are some who resemble 
the buzzard and some who are like the bee. Some 
make no other use of their faculties than to search 
constantly for food and drink. They live in the din- 
ing room and, ignoring all appeals addressed to the 
head or heart, keep close to the flesh pots. 

There are others — and may the swarm increase — w^ho 
find pleasure in useful toil and recreation in helpful- 
ness; they extract good from life, but they leave as a 
legacy to posterity more of the good than they them- 
selves consume. Such enjoy life and add to the enjoy- 
ment of both those who live with them and those wdio 
live after them. 

The buzzard must be a buzzard and the bee must be 
a bee — this is fate, but man is free to choose which he 
will imitate. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY 

The democratic idea is growing — the term is not 
used in a partisan sense, but -in that broader sense in 



100 THE REAL BRYAN 

which it describes government by the people. There 
is not a civilized nation in which the idea of popular 
government is not growing, and in all the semi-civil- 
ized nations there are reformers who are urging an 
extension of the influence of the people in government. 
So universal is this growth of democratic ideas that 
there can be no doubt of their final triumph. Mon- 
archies, at first unlimited, are now limited, and limited 
monarchies are recognizing more and more the right 
of the people to a voice in their own government. 'Mon- 
archies and aristocracies tend toward democracy, and 
republics tend to become more and more democratic 
in their forms and methods. 

When the seed, planted in the earth, sends forth the 
tender leaf and then the stalk ; when the grain appears 
upon the stalk and supplies the bread necessary for 
the support of our bodies, we know that there is back 
of the seed a force irresistible and constantly working. 
As irresistible and as ceaseless in its activity is the force 
behind political and moral truth. The advocates of the 
American theory of government can, therefore, labor 
with the confident assurance that the principles planted 
upon American soil a century and a quarter ago are 
destined to grow here and everywhere until arbitrary 
power will nowhere be known, and until the voice of 
the people shall be recognized, if not as the voice 
of God, at least, as Bancroft defines it, as the best ex- 
pression of the divine will to be found upon the earth. 

In republics, as. in other forms of government, there 
will at times be disturbances, but these come from a 



THE REAL BRYAN 101 

failure to recognize and respect the current of public 
opinion. If we stand by the side of a stream and 
watch it glide past us, we can in safety listen to the 
song of the waters, but if we attempt to dam the stream 
we find the water rising above the dam. If we make 
the dam higher still, the water rises still more, and at 
last the force in the obstructed water is so great that 
no dam made by human hands can longer stay it. 
Sometimes, when the dam is washed away, damage is 
done to those who live in the valley below, but the 
fault is not in the stream, but in those who attempt to 
obstruct it. So in human society there is a current of 
public opinion which flows ever onward. If left to 
have its way it does not harm anyone, but if obstructed^ 
this current may become a menace. At last the ob- 
struction must yield to the force of the current. In 
monarchies and aristocracies the dam is sometimes 
built so high that it is removed by force, but in repub- 
lics the ballot can be relied upon to keep the channel 
of the stream open, or if obstruction is attempted, to 
remove it while yet it can be removed with safety. 
The advantage of a republic is that the people, through 
their representatives, are able to give public opinion 
free play, and the more democratic a republic is, the 
more nearly does it conform to the wishes of the peo- 
ple. 

No one can study the governments of the old world 
without a feeling of gratitude that in the new world the 
science of government has been carried to its highest 
point, and we of the United States can rejoice that our 
nation leads the world in recognizing the right of the 



102 THE REAL BRYAN 

people to devise and to direct the government under 
which they are to work out their destiny. [From letter 
on Study of Governments.^ 



MISREPRESENTING THE DEMOCRAT 

Just now the trust magnates are hurling epithets at 
those who seek to destroy the trusts. They assume to 
be the special custodians of property rights, and charge 
anti-monopolists with communistic, socialistic and an- 
archistic designs upon ''the thrifty and the successful." 
As a matter of fact the reformer has never been more 
grossly misrepresented than he is now by the monopo- 
lists. It is the trust magnate, not the opponents of the 
trust, who is striking at property rights. He tres- 
passes upon the property rights of the small manu- 
facturer and the retailer, and heartlessly drives him 
into bankiiiptcy. He trespasses upon the property 
rights of the consumers, who have a right to purchase 
what they need in a free market at a reasonable price. 
The monopolist simply appropriates the property of 
others. The trust magnate often trespasses upon the 
property rights of the employe, whose skill and muscle 
he utilizes. He encourages the employe to invest in a 
home and then he sacrifices that home if he engages 
in a war vdXh. his laborers or finds it profitable to dis- 
mantle his plant. Even the property interests of the 
stockholders are not safe in the hands of the trust mag- 
nate, for he has been known to depress the market for 



THE REAL BRYAN 103 

the purpose of freezing out his associates or in order 
to buy more stock at a low price. TLose who, believing 
«that "a private monopoly is indefensible land in- 
tolerable/' are laboring to restore competition and to 
protect the small producer, the consumer, the merchant 
and the skilled laborer — these, not the trust magnates, 
are the real defenders of property rights. [From an 
article published in the Saturday Evening Post in 
1905.1 



PURITY IN POLITICS 

"While the subject of reciprocity in tariff laws is be- 
ing discussed there is another kind of reciprocity which 
should not be overlooked, namely, reciprocity betw^een 
the people and their public servants. The people owe 
it to their public servants to commend and encourage 
them when they do well, and it is not only the privi- 
lege, but the duty, of the people to condemn and re- 
buke officials when they betray their trust. 

The public servant, on the other hand, is under ob- 
ligation to the people w^ho elect him and to the party 
which he represents. When he becomes the agent of 
the people to carry out their wdll, he takes an oath 
that he will be honest and faithful. If he violates that 
oath he ought not to expect the people to be more con- 
siderate of his feelings than he has been of their rights. 
If he sells them out he has no reason to complain if 
they turn him out. If he has received his price he 
ought not to complain if they pursue their remedy and 



104 THE REAL BRYAN 

select some one else to represent them. Why should 
a party support an official who has brought disgrace 
upon it by his unfaithfulness? If his devotion to his 
party is not sufficient to make him behave himself, his 
party ought not to be so devoted -to him as to shield 
him from deserved punishment. 

When a good official falls, his party cannot escape 
some censure even though the official's previous record 
was such as to justify the party's confidence, but a 
party cannot defend an official after his fall without 
assuming responsibility for his sins. Neither is it 
incumbent upon a party to incur risk in defending a 
member of the party against charges not yet proved 
in court. Purity in politics requires not merely that 
officials shall keep out of the penitentiary, but that 
they shall be above suspicion. If under suspicion let 
them step aside until the cloud is removed. When an 
official shows the first symptoms of that disastrous of- 
ficial disease known as ''the itching palm" he should 
be quarantined until he is entirely recovered or until 
it is shown that he did not have the disease. If he is 
a manly man he will prefer seclusion during the in- 
vestigation and his vindication will be the more com- 
plete when it comes, but the party by taking the sus- 
picion upon itself will so weaken itself that it cannot 
be of service to him even after vindication. 

The democratic party has suffered occasionally be- 
cause of corrupt officials in city, county, state and na- 
tion. As a matter of policy as well as a matter of 
principle it ought to make an example of every guilty 
democrat. It will by so doing win the confidence of 



THE KEAL J3KYAN 105 

the people and by warning democratic officials that 
punishment follows wTongdoing, it will lessen the 
number of betrayals. 

Let every honest democrat resolve to fearlessly prose- 
cute every corrupt democratic official and thus make 
the party stand for public honor and fidelity to public 
interests. This advice is especially applicable to Penn- 
sylvania politics. Even republican papers are open 
in their charges of corruption in high places and it 
is evident that some of the democrats have been be- 
smirched by republican corruptionists. The party 
should be purged of these ungrateful and odorous mis- 
representatives. Pennsylvania politics needs purify- 
ing and the democratic party must purge itself of these 
rotten members if it expects io be a potent factor in 
the cleansing of the state. [From an editorial in The 
Commoner.] 



UNION 



I am told that in this county were fought more 
battles than in any county of like size in the world, 
and that upon the earth within the limits of this coun- 
ty there fell more dead and wounded than ever fell 
on a similar space in all the history of the world. Here 
opposing lines were drawn up face to face ; here oppos- 
ing armies met and stared at each other and then 
sought to take each other's lives. But all these scenes 
have passed away and those who once met in deadly 
array now meet and commingle here as friends. Here 



106 THE REAL BRYAN 

the swords have been turned into plowshares, here the 
spears have been converted into pruning hooks and 
people learn war no more. Here the bands on either 
side once stirred up the flagging zeal with notes that 
thrilled the hearts of men. These two bands are now 
component parts of one great band, and as that band 
marches on in the lead playing "Yankee Doodle'^ and 
"Dixie" too, the war-scarred veterans who wore the 
blue and the war-scarred veterans who wore the gray- 
follow, side by side, each vying with the other in the 
effort to make this the greatest and the best of all the 
nations on God's footstool. [From speech delivered 
at Ffedericksburg, Va,, during the campaign of 1896.] 

ni lOJOBl jl"l^)J 

A generation ago New England helped to free the 
black slaves of the South, and today the Southern peo- 
ple rejoice that it was accomplished. The time has 
come when the Southern people are helping to free the 
white slaves of the North ; and in the fullness of time 
New England will rejoice in its accomplishment. 
Thomas Jefferson, although a Virginian, favored 
emancipation, and yet that sentiment, born in the 
South, ripened and developed in the North until it 
came down and conquered the land from which it 
sprung. 

The idea of commercial freedom had its birthplace 
in the North, but it has spread over the States of the 
South and "West, and it will come back from these 
great sections and conquer the land in which it had its 



THE REAL BRYAN 107 

birth. Let us not stir anew the dying embers of civil 
strife. I did not live through those days. It was not 
my good fortune to be permitted to show my loyalty 
to the Union or my devotion to a State ; and there are 
over all the South young men who have grown to man- 
hood since the war; and they and their fathers rejoice 
today in the results of the war, achieved against their 
objection. These men do not deserve your scorn; they 
do not merit your contempt. They are ready to fight 
side by side with you, shoulder to shoulder, in making 
this the most glorious nation that the world has ever 
seen. I have no doubt of the loyalty of the South, and 
I honor the sentiments so eloquently expressed the 
other day by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Black) 
when he spoke in praise of the flag which he at one 
time disowned. 

These gentlemen from the South, sir, who speak for 
union and fraternal love, and the men from the North 
who echo their sentiments, reflect the wishes of the 
people of this country far more accurately than the 
political volcanoes which break into active eruption 
every two years. Welcome to these sons of the South ! 
We gladly join them in every work which has for its 
object equality, freedom and justice. And 1 rejoice 
that the people of these once estranged sections are 
prepared to celebrate the complete reunion of the North 
and South so beautifully described by the poetess when 
she says : 

"Together," shouts Niagara, his thunder-toned decree ; 
"Together,'^ echo back the waves upon the Mexic sea; 



108 THE REAL BRYAN 

''Together," sing the sylvan hills where old Atlantic 

roars; 
'Together/' boom the breakers on the wild Pacific 

shores ; 
''Together," cry the people, and "together" it shall be, 
An everlasting charter-bond forever for the free; 
Of Liberty the signet-seal, the one eternal sign, 
Be those united emblems — the Palmetto and the Pine. 

[From speech delivered in House of Representatives, 
January 13, 189^.] 



THE DOCTRINES OF THE NAZARENE 

The tokens of love and affection exchanged during 
the Christmas season are small when compared with 
the great gift brought to humanity by the meek and 
lowly Nazarene in whose honor Christmas day is ob- 
served. 

To the Christian, Jesus came as an unspeakable gift, 
His face illumined by a divine radiance, His life sur- 
rendered in fulfillment of a divine plan, His resurrec- 
tion fixing in the firmament a star of hope that shall 
never be dimmed. But even those outside of the 
church, as well as its members, share in the benefit 
which humanity has received from the example and 
teachings of the Man of Galilee. 

In a letter written to a friend, Thomas Jefferson 
analyzed the doctrines of Christ as they relate to man^s 
conduct toward his fellows, saying: 



THE REAL BRYAN 109 

"His moral doctrines, relating to kindred and 
friends, were more pure and perfect than those of the 
most correct of the philosophers, and greatly more so 
than those of the Jews ; and they went far beyond both 
in inculcating universal philanthropy, not only to 
kindred and friends, to neighbors and coutrymen, but 
to all mankind, gathering all into one family, under 
the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants and 
common aids. A development of this head will evince 
the peculiar superiority of' the system of Jesus over 
all others. 

"The precepts of philosophy and of the Hebrew code 
laid hold of action only. He pushed his scrutinies into 
the heart of man ; created his tribunal in the region of 
his thought, and purified the waters at the fountain 
head." 

Those who accept Jesus as the Son of God and wor- 
ship Him as such can attribute the marvelous spread 
of His gospel to a supernatural force behind it ; those, 
however, who dispute His divinity must find in the 
doctrines themselves an explanation of their increasing 
hold upon the human heart. No language that can be 
employed by pen, no words that can be spoken by the 
tongue, can exaggerate the influence which Christ's 
philosophy has already exerted upon the race, or esti- 
mate its future power. 

Between the doctrine of might and the doctrine of 
right; between the principle that propagates itself by 
the sword and the principle that grows through the 
persuasive influence of its own intrinsic merit ; between 
the grasping, over-reaching spirit that enthrones self 



no THE EEAL BRYAN 

and sacrifices all else to its own advantage and the 
generous, manly recognition of the rights of others; 
between a measure of greatness that estimates a man by 
what he has absorbed from society and that which es- 
timates men worthy in proportion as they do service 
and diffuse blessings — these differences surpass com- 
prehension. 

If Je^us had left nothing but the Parables, His 
name would have been imperishable in literature; if 
He had bequeathed to posterity nothing but the sim- 
plicity of his speech and the irresistible logic of His 
argument. He would have had a permanent place 
among the orators of the world ; if He had given to the 
world nothing but the commandment ''Thou shalt love 
thy neighbor as thyself," enforced as it was by His 
own example, this one gift would have been sufficient 
to outweigh all the w-ealth of all the world; if He had 
left no record but the Sermon on the Mount, it alone 
would have made His natal day w^orthy of perpetual 
celebration — but all these, added to the matchless 
majesty of a perfect life and the inspiring influence 
of an all-pervading love, are turning the eyes of an 
ever-increasing number to the path that He trod from 
the manger to the cross. 

Love was the dominating force of His life and love 
is today the overmastering impulse w^hose ebb and flow 
mark the retreat and advance of civilization. And love, 
too, sanctifies the Christmas gift. With it the merest 
trifle swells into an object of importance; without it 
the most expensive present dwindles into insignificance. 
Love is the alchemy which invests w^ith priceless value 



THE REAL BRYAN 111 

all that it touches — the magic wand that converts the 
humblest cottage into a palace and gives to earth's 
pilgrims a glimpse of paradise. [From an editorial in 
The Commoner,] 



ORATORY 



During Revolutionary days the Old Dominion fur- 
nished not only the first, but the greatest of our execu- 
tives. During the Revolutionary days Virginia fur- 
nished the greatest of all statesmen — not of that period 
alone, but of all time; for no other statesman, before 
or since, stands in the class with Thomas Jefferson. 
But, not satisfied with presenting the greatest executive 
and statesman, Virginia presented an orator worthy to 
be classed with Demosthenes, who ha^ for more than 
twenty centuries been the world's model in public 
speaking. As an impassioned orator, even Demosthenes 
was not superior to Patrick Henry. 

Sometimes I receive a letter from a student who 
t^lls me that he is a born orator, and wants to know 
what such an one should do to prepare himself for his 
life work. I generally reply that orators must be born 
like other people, but that birth 'is the smallest part of 
an orator's equipment. Men are not born orators. If 
I want to calculate the future of a young man in pub- 
lic speaking, I do not ask him whether his mother 
spoke well, or his father spoke a great deal; I do not 
think it makes much difference. An orator is a prod- 
uct of his time, and there are and always vrill be 



112 THE REAL BRYAN 

orators when there are great interests at stake, and 
when men arise with a message to deliver. 

There are two essentials in oratory ; first that the man 
shall know what he is talking about, and second, that 
he shall mean what he says. You can not have elo- 
quence without these two essentials. If a man does 
not know a thing, he can not tell it — if he is not in- 
formed himself, he can not inform others; and if he 
does not feel in his own heart, he can not make any- 
body else feel. 

And next to these two, I would place clearness of 
statement. There are not only certain self-evident 
truths, but all truth is self-evident, and the best service 
one can render truth is to present it so clearly that it 
can be understood, for if the truth is clearly stated 
you do not need to defend it, it defends itself. 

I do not mean to say that any truth can be so clearly 
stated that no one will dispute it. I think it was Lord 
Macaulay who said that if any money was to be made 
by it, learned men would be found to dispute the laws 
of gravitation. But what I mean to say is this, that a 
truth can be so clearly stat-ed that no one will dispute 
it unless he has some reason for disputing it, — 
sometimes a pecuniary rea.son, sometimes a reason 
founded upon prejudice or some other selfish interest, 
— and when you find a man disputing a self-evident 
truth there is no use arguing with him; it is a w^aste 
of time. Argue with some one who is open to con- 
viction. For instance, if you say to a man, ''It is 
wrong to steal,'* a self-evident truth, and he says, ''I do 
not know about that," it is no uce to argue with him — 



THE REAL BRYAN 113 

search him, and you will probably find the reason in 
his pocket. 

Next to clearness of statement, I would put concise- 
ness of statement — the saying much in a few words. 

Patrick Henry had all of these qualities. He knew 
what he was talking about, he understood the funda- 
mental principles of the science of government ; he un- 
derstood human rights, and he understood the human 
heart. He not only knew what he was talking about, 
but he meant what he said — he spoke from his heart 
to the hearts of those who listened. There were learned 
and influential men in those days who opposed him, 
but when he made his impassioned appeal to the sense 
of justice he was greater than all of them. He had 
the power of stating a question clearly. He could strip 
away the verbiage that is sometimes used to conceal 
ideas, he could present the idea clearly, and he could 
present a thought in a few words. No great thought 
has ever been more strongly presented, more clearly 
presented, more concisely presented than that great 
thought which he presented when he exclaimed: ''Give 
me liberty or give me death !'^ He might have spoken 
for hours, but he could not have added to the strength 
of the statement by the use of further words. He was 
a great orator, and his influence rested upon his ability 
to speak to the hearts of the people. He did not speak 
for himself, no orator can speak for himself and be 
eloquent. He must have a larger cause. 

If a man is to be eloquent he must speak for man- 
kind; only then can he appeal to the hearts of men. A 
man is of little importance in this world, except as he 



114 THE REAL BRYAN 

can advance a principle, or help his fellows. Patrick 
Henry seized a great principle and brought it into 
prominence. He spoke not for himself, but for all the 
people of this country — he was the voice of the people, 
he was the conscience of the masses, and therefore 
when he spoke for them he carried conviction. Ho 
presented in a few words the greatest theme that we 
have to deal with in matters of government. [Fromt 
speech at the Jamestown Exposition, May SO, 1907. \ 



A BADGE OF SHAME 

The free pass is one of the great evils of the day, 
and no public official is in a position to discharge his 
duty to the people if he places himself under obliga* 
tions to the corporations. 

The battle against the free pass is not a temporary 
struggle. Unless we are prepared to confess that pop- 
ular government is a farce, that battle will not cease 
until the pass has been abolished. 

In the meantime let it be understood everywhere 
that a free pass in the hands of a public official is a 
badge of shame. [From an editorial in The Com- 
"moner.l 



PROTECTING PROPERTY RIGHTS 

The democratic party is not the enemy of property 
or of property rights; it is, on the contrary, the best 



THE REAL BEYAN 115 

defender of both, because it defends human rights, and 
human rights are the only foundation upon which 
property and property rights can rest securely. The 
democratic party does not menace a single dollar 
legitimately accumulated; on the contrary, it insists 
upon the protection of rich and poor alike in the en- 
joyment of that which they have honestly earned. 
The democratic party does not discourage thrift, but 
on the contrary stimulates each individual to the 
highest endeavor by assuring him that he will not 
be deprived of the fruits of his toil. 

If we can but repeal the laws which enable men to 
reap where they have not sown — laws which enable 
them to garner into their overflowing barns the har- 
vests that belong to others— no one will be able to 
accumulate enough to make his fortune dangerous to 
the country. Special privilege and the use of the tax- 
ing power for private gain — these are the twin pillars 
upon which plutocracy rests. To take away these sup- 
ports and to elevate the beneficiaries of special legis- 
lation to the plane of honest effort ought to be the 
purpose of our party. 

And who can suffer injury by just taxation, im- 
partial laws and the application of the Jeffersonian 
doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges 
to none? Only those whose accumulations are stained 
with dishonesty and whose immoral methods have 
given them a distorted view of business, of society and 
government. Accumulating by conscious frauds more 
money than they can use upon themselves, wisely dis- 
tribute or safely leave to their children, these denounce 



116 THE REAL BRYAN 

as public enemies all who question their methods or 
throw a light upon their crimes. [From Madison 
Square Garden, New York, speech, August 30, 1906.] 



THE FIRST VOTER 

Young man, great responsibility attaches to your 
first vote. As you begin, so you are likely to continue. 
The momentum that carries you into a party at the 
beginning of your political life is apt to keep you 
in that party unless some convulsion shakes you out 
of it. Start right, and in order that you may start 
right, examine the principles of the parties and the 
policies which they advocate. 

There are two great party organizations in the 
United States, one fifty years old, and the other more 
than a century old. The republican party has been 
in power almost uninterruptedly for more than half a 
century, and under its reign abuses have grown up 
which threaten the perpetuity of the government and 
endanger our civilization. So great are these abuses 
that republican reformers are now pointing out that 
something must be done — and what can be done? The 
first thing is to undo the things that have been done, 
and the party to undo these abuses is not the party 
w^hich has done them, but the party which has pro- 
tested against these abuses and pointed out remedies. 

The repblican party has turned the taxing power 
over to private individuals; it has allowed monopolies 



THE REAL BRYAN 117 

to grow up and assume control of the industries of 
the country by granting privileges by law and by giv- 
ing immunity to the large violators of the law; the 
republican party hsis permitted the fortunes of the 
predatory rich to become so large that government is 
corrupted, politics debauched and business polluted. 

The democratic party proposes to withdraw the tax- 
ing power from private hands, to so legislate as to 
make a private monopoly impossible, and to enforce 
the law without discrimination. It proposes to protect 
legitimate wealth and punish those who attempt to 
plunder the public for private gain. On which side 
do you stand, young man? Are you with the mas,?es 
in their effort to restore the government to its old 
foundation and make it a government of the people, 
for the people, and by the people, or are you with the 
republican leaders in their effort to perpetuate the 
party in power by selling immunity in return for 
campaign contributions ? 

There are always two parties in the country, and 
one is necessarily nearer to the people than the other. 
In this country the democratic party is nearer to the 
people than the republican party. Its leaders have 
more faith in the people and are more anxious to keep 
the government under the control of the people. Take 
the election of United States senators by the people as 
a test. The democrats want to give to the voters a 
chance to elect and to control their representatives in 
the United States senate. The democratic party in 
the house of representatives passed the first resolution 
for the submission of the necessary constitutional 



118 THE REAL BRYAN 

amendment. They did this eight years before any re- 
publican congress did it. The democratic party ha.s 
twice demanded this reform in its national platform. 
The republican party has not done so. Why do demo- 
cratic leaders insist upon this reform and repub- 
lican leaders oppo;se it? There can be but one 
answer — the democratic party is nearer to the people 
than the republican party. Young man, will you 
stand with the people or against them? 

The answer to this question affects your country. 
If you are with the people your influence, be it great 
or small, will hasten their victory. If you are against 
the people, your influence may retard that victory. 
But while in the first instance it is your country that 
may gain or lose by your action, you must remember 
that in the long run your own position in politics will 
depend upon your conduct. You can not fool the 
people always. You may lead them astray if you dare, 
but they will punish you when they find you out. 
You may work for the people without their recogniz- 
ing it at first, but you can trust them to discover the 
character of your work and to reward you accordingly. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



TRIBUTE TO JEFFERSON 

There are wrongs to be righted ; there are evils to be 
eradicated; there is injustice to be removed; there is 
good to be secured for those who toil and wait. la 



THE REAL BRYAN 119 

this fight for equal laws we cannot fail, for right is 
mighty and will in time triumph over all obstacles. 
Even if our own eyes do not behold success we know 
that our labor is not in vain, and we can lay down our 
weapons, happy in the promise given by Bryant to 
the soldier: 

^'Yea, though thou lie upon the dust. 
When they who helped thee flee in fear, 

Die full of hope and manly trust. 
Like those who fell in battle here. 

"Another hand thy sword shall wield; 

Another hand the standard wave; 
Till from the trumpet's mouth is pealed 

The blast of triumph o'er thy grave.'' 

Let us, then, with the courage of Andrew Jackson, 
apply to present conditions the principles taught by 
Thomas Jefferson — Thomas Jefferson, the greatest 
constructive statesman w^hom the world has ever 
known; the grandest warrior who ever battled for 
human liberty! He quarried from the mountain of 
eternal truth the four pillars upon whose strength all 
popular government must rest. In the Declaration of 
American Independence he proclaimed the principles 
"with which there is, without which there cannot be, 
*% government of the people, by the people, and for 
the people." When he declared that ''all men are 
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights: that among these are 



120 THE REAL BRYAN 

life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to 
secure these rights governments are instituted among 
men, deriving their just powers from the consent of 
the governed," he declared all that lies between the 
Alpha and Omega of democracy. 

Alexander ''wept for other worlds to conquer," after 
he had carried his victorious banner throughout the 
then known world; Napoleon ''rearranged the map of 
Europe with his sword" amid the lamentations of those 
by whose blood he was exalted; but when these and 
other military heroes are forgotten and their achieve- 
ments disappear in the cycle's sweep of years, chil- 
dren will still lisp the name of Jefferson, and free- 
men wall ascribe due praise to him who filled the kneel- 
ing subject's heart with hope and bade him stand 
erect — a sovereign among his peers. [From speech 
delivered in House of Representatives, June 5, 1894-] 



DOCTRINE OF ELECTION 

There is one thing about the Presbyterian Church 
that I did not like, but I have had an explanation of 
it recently that makes me accept that; so I am in a 
very genial frame of mind so far as churches are con- 
cerned. The one thing that I did not like about the 
Presbyterian church was the doctrine of election. I 
have had a good deal of trouble with that — religiously, 
and otherwise — but I heard an explanation of the doc- 
trine of election that has reconciled me to it, and in 



THE REAL BRYAN 121 

the hope that there may be some Presbyterians here 
who can be helped by it, I will tell you this story: 

Two colored preachers down in Georgia were dis- 
cussing religion, as they are wont to do sometimes, and 
the Presbyterian brother was trying to persuade the 
Methodist, and the Methodist brother hung back on 
the doctrine of election. The Presbyterian brother 
said: ''It's just this way — the voting is going on all 
the time; the Lord is voting for you and the devil is 
voting against you, and whichever way you vote, that's 
the way the election goes." 

It is the best definition of the doctrine of election 
that I know of. [From address entitled ''Democracy's 
Appeal to Culture/' delivered before the Alumni As- 
sociation of Syracuse University, at Hotel Astor, New 
York, January 27, 1905.] 



"A DREAM IN MARBLE^^ 

Of all the works of art that can be traced to the 
genius of Shah Jehan, nothing compares with the 
Tomb, the Taj Mahal, which he reared in honor of 
the best-loved of his wives, Numtaj Mahal, "the chosen 
of the palace." This building, unique among build- 
ings and alone in its class, has been described so often 
that I know not how to speak of it without employing 
language already hackneyed. When I was a student at 
college I heard a lecturer describe this wonderful tomb, 
and it was one of the objective points in our visit to 



122 THE REAL BRYAN 

India. Since I first heard of it I had read so much 
of it, and had received such glowing accounts from 
those who had seen it, that I feared lest the expecta- 
tions aroused might be disappointed. 

We reached Agra toward midnight, and, as the 
moon was waning, drove at once to the Taj that we 
might see it under the most favorable conditions, for 
in the opinion of many it is most beautiful by moon- 
light. There is something fascinating in the view 
which it thus presents, and we feasted our eyes upon 
it. Shrouded in the mellow light, the veins of the 
marble and the stains of more than two and a half 
centuries are invisible, and it stands forth like an ap- 
parition. We visited it again in the day time, and yet 
again, and found that the sunlight increased rather 
than diminished its grandeur. I am bringing an 
alabaster miniature home with me, but I am conscious 
that the Taj must be seen full size and silhouetted 
against the sky to be appreciated. 

Imagine a garden with flowers and lawn, walks and 
marble water basins and fountains; in this garden 
build a platform of white marble eighteen feet high 
and three hundred feet square, with an ornamented 
minaret one hundred and thirty-seven feet high at 
each corner; in the center of this platform rear a build- 
ing one hundred and eighty feet square and a hundred 
feet high, with its corners beveled off and, like the 
sides, recessed into bays ; surmount it with a large cen- 
tral dome and four smaller ones; cover it inside and 
out with inlaid w^ork of many colored marbles and 
carvings of amazing delicacy; beneath the central 



THE REAL BRYAN 123 

dome place two marble centetaphs, inlaid with precious 
stones, the tombs of Shah Jehan and his wife, and en- 
close them in exquisitely carved marble screens — im- 
agine all this, if you can, and then your conception of 
thLs world-famed structure will fall far below the Taj 
Mahal itself. 

It is, indeed, "a, dream in marble." And yet, when 
one looks upon it and then surveys the poverty and 
ignorance of the w^omen who live within its shadow, 
he is tempted to ask whether the builder of the Taj 
might not have honored his wife more had the six 
million dollars invested in this tomb been expended 
on the elevation of womanhood. The contrast between 
this artistic pile and the miserable tenements of the 
people about it robs the structure of half its charms. 
[From letter on Mohamimedan India.] 



MAN'S LIMITATIONS 

Man is a religious being; the heart instinctively 
seeks for a God. Whether he worships on the banks of 
the Ganges, prays, with his face toward the sun, kneels 
toward Mecca or, regarding all space as a temple, com- 
munes wdth the Heavenly Father according to the 
Christian creed, man is essentially devout. 

Some regard religion as a superstition, pardonable 
in the ignorant but unworthy of the educated — a men- 
tal state which one can and should outgrow. Those 
who hold this view look down with mild contempt 



124 THE REAL BRYAN 

npon such as give to religion a definite place in their 
thoughts and lives. They assume an intellectual supe- 
riority and often take little pains to conceal the as- 
sumption. Tolstoy administers to the ''cultured 
crowd" (the words quoted are his) a severe rebuke 
when he declares that the religious sentiment rests not 
upon a superstitious fear of the invisible forces of 
nature, but upon man's consciousness of his finiteness 
amid an infinite universe and of his sinfulness ; and this 
consciousness, the great philosopher adds, man can 
never outgrow. Tolstoy is right; man recognizes how 
limited are his own powers and how vast is the uni- 
verse, and he leans upon the arm that is stronger than 
his. Man feels the w^eight of his sins and looks for 
One who is sinless. 

Religion has been defined as the relation which man 
fixes between himself and his God, morality being the 
outward manifestation of this relation. Every one, by 
the time he reaches maturity, has fixed some relation 
between himself and God and no material change in 
this relation can take place without a revolution in the 
mau, for this relation is the supreme thing in his 
life. [From ''The Prince of Peace," an address de- 
livered on various occasions.l 



A CHILD'S INFLUENCE 

What unfathomed possibilities are wrapped within 
the swaddling clothes that enfold an infant! Who 



THE REAL BRYAN 125 

can measure a child's influence for weal or woe? Be- 
fore it can lisp a word, it has brought to one woman 
the sweet consciousness of motherhood, and it ha^ 
given to one man the added strength that comes with 
a sense of responsibility. Before its tiny hands can 
lift a feather's weight, they have drawn two hearts 
closer together and its innocent prattle echoes through 
two lives. Every day that child in its growth touches 
and changes someone; not a year in all its history 
but that it leaves an impress upon the race. Its smiles, 
its tears, its joys, its sorrows — all are garnered up, and 
when that child reaches the age of 15 or 16 and the 
parents send it to college, they entrust this priceless 
creature to the care of teachers. What do you do with 
it? How do you deal with it? Train it in the sciences? 
Train it in the languages? It is not sufficient that the 
child shall know how old the earth is, how far the stars 
are apart, or the forces that attract or repel each other. 
There is something more important to that child than 
any or all of these — it is to know how to live, and how 
can that child know how to live unless it knows that 
it is linked by indissoluble ties to every other human 
being? Great is the responsibility of the college? The 
college ought to send forth, not simply scholars, but 
men and women prepared to do a great work. If a 
man standing upon an eminence sees danger afar, you 
condemn him if he does not warn those in the valley 
of the danger's approach. Are the scholars of this land, 
standing upon eminences, watching and warning their 
fellows? I fear that too many of them are satisfied to 
simply enjoy life — satisfied simply to accumulate, re- 



126 THE REAL BRYAN 

garding their education as a private possession that 
they can use as they please. I must learn again my 
religion — whether it be Methodist or Presbyterian, or 
taught in any other church — ^before I can accept this 
doctrine in regard to man. [From address entitled 
^^Democracy's Appeal to Culture/^ delivered before the 
Alumni Association of Syracuse University, at Hotel 
Astor, Neiv York, January 27, 1905.'] 



THE SECRET OF LIFE 

Science has taught us so many things that we are 
tempted to conclude that we know everything, but 
there is really a great unknown which is still unex- 
plored and that which we have learned ought to in- 
crease our reverence rather than our egotism. Science 
has disclosed some of the machinery of the universe, 
but science has not yet revealed to us the great secret — 
the secret of life. It is to be found in every blade of 
grass, in every iubect, in every bird and in every ani- 
mal, as well as in man. Six thousand years of recorded 
history and yet we know no more about the secret of 
life than they knew in the beginning. We live, we 
plan; w^e have our hopes, our fears; and yet in a mo- 
ment a change may come over any one of us and then 
this body will become a mass of lifeless clay. What is 
it that, having, w^e live, and having not we are as the 
clod? We know not, and yet the progress of the race 
and the civilization which we now behold are the work 



THE REAL BRYAN 127 

of men and women who have not solved the mystery 
of their own lives. 

And our food, must we understand it before we eat 
it? If we refused to eat anything until we could un- 
derstand the mystery of its growth, we would die of 
starvation. But mystery does not bother us in the 
dining room; it is only in the church that it is an 
obstacle. 

1 was eating a piece of watermelon some months ago 
and was struck with its beauty. I took some of the 
seeds and weighed them, and found that it would 
require some five thousand seeds to weigh a pound. 
And then I applied mathematics to a forty -pound 
melon. One of these seeds, put into the ground, when 
warmed by the sun and moistened by the rain goes to 
work ; it gathers from somewhere two hundred thou- 
sand times its own weight and, forcing this raw mate- 
rial through a tiny stem, constructs a watermelon. It 
covers the outside with a coating of green; inside of 
the green it puts a layer of white, and within the white 
a core of red, and all through the red it scatters seeds 
each one capable of continuing the work of repro- 
duction. I can not explain the watermelon but I eat 
it and enjoy it. Everything that grows tells a like 
story of infinite power. Why should I deny that a 
divine hand fed a multitude with a few loaves and 
fishes when I see hundreds of millions fed every year 
by a hand which converts the seeds scattered over the 
field into an abundant harvest? We know that food 
can be multiplied in a few months' time ; shall we deny 
the power of the Creator to eliminate the element of 



128 THE REAL BRYAN 

time, when we have gone so far in eliminating the ele- 
ment of space? [From ''The Prince of Peace," an ad- 
dress delivered on various occasionsJ] 



THE CHILDREN'S LEGACY 

I have given you a few evidences of growth that 
encourage men to believe that better times are coming 
for those who want purity in politics and a govern- 
ment responsive to the will of the people. 

And now let me give you what I regard as even a 
more encouraging sign; that is, the activity of the 
well-to-do men on the people's side of these questions, 
for these reforms have generally heretofore found their 
advocacy among the poor people. I regard it as a 
splendid sign that men of independent means, men 
who have no fear for themselves or for their own posi- 
tions, are beginning to recognize that there is some- 
thing in this world more important than the making 
of money, and that these men are beginning to give to 
those questions the benefit of their business experience 
and of their brain. In the last few years I have been 
gratified beyond measure to have men of means come 
to me and tell me of their interest in these reforms, 
altruistic interest, if you please, unselfish interest ; men 
not seeking public office; men asking for nothing in 
the way of favors from the government, but men who 
recognize that this government must be better than it 
has been if we are to leave the legacy we ought to- 
leave to our children. 



THE KEAL BRYAN 129 

I am glad, my friends, to find this increasing num- 
ber, and I want to look upon these questions as these 
men do, for I am in an independent position. My 
poverty was overestimated when they called me poor 
just as my wealth is overestimated now, when they call 
me rich. I was never so poor that I could not have 
everything I needed, and my wants are as simple now, 
and my tastes as modest as when I was a struggling 
young lawyer and my wife and I were doing our work 
together. I have no fear about my income, no doubt 
that I can take care of myself, no doubt that I can 
leave my children as much as I think I ought to leave 
them. I do not believe in leaving children much. I 
am glad my father did not leave me much, for if I had 
grown up in anticipation of a fortune I would not 
have developed the industry that I did develop when I 
found that I had to make my own living. I do not 
want my children to be spoiled by the expectation of 
a great deal of money; I shall be able to leave them 
enough. 

Why should a man want to leave only money to his 
children? If you leave money it may take the wings 
of the morning and fly away. You must leave your 
children something better than money. There is a 
growing class in this country, an increasing number of 
our citizens, who recognize that the best legacy a father 
can leave to his children is not fortune, but a govern- 
ment that will protect his children in their enjoyment 
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and guar- 
antee to them a fair share of the proceeds of their own 
toil. 



130 THE REAL BRYAN 

I welcome, therefore, as allies in the great fight that 
we have before us, not only the poor who have felt the 
pressure of bad laws, but also those well-to-do people 
whose hearts beat in sympathy with the hearts of the 
struggling masses; and I am glad to have these two 
classes stand side by side and fight shoulder to shoulder. 
The fact that they are doing it in increasing numbers 
is evidence of the truth of what Dumas wrote thirteen 
years ago and Tolstoy ten years ago. They declared 
the coming of an era of brotherhood. 

I rejoice that I have lived to see this day when men 
of means are recognizing that the poor man is made in 
the image of the same God whose image the well-to- 
do man wears; that these men are recognizing that 
the poor man loves his children as much as the rich 
man loves his children. This recognition of kinship 
will enable us to solve these questions in the spirit 
of brotherly love and, solving them, give an impetus 
to progress and civilization. [From a speech at ban- 
quet given by People s Lobby, Neivark, New Jersey, 
May 5, 1907.'] 



HUMANITY'S SEARCH FOR PEACE 

All the world is in search of peace; every heart 
that ever beat has sought peace and many have been 
the methods employed to find it. Some have thought 
to purchase it with riches and they have labored to 
secure wealth, hoping to find peace when they were 
able to go where they pleased and buy what they 



THE REAL BRYAN 131 

liked. Of those who have endeavored to purchase 
peace with money, the large majority have failed to 
secure the money. But what has been the experience 
of those who have been successful in accumulating 
money? They all tell the same story, viz., that they 
spend the first half of their lives trying to get money 
from others and the last half trying to keep others 
from getting their money, and that they found peace 
in neither half. Some have even reached the point 
where they find difficulty in getting people to accept 
their money; and I know of no better indication of 
the ethical awakening in this country than the in- 
creasing tendency to scrutinize the methods of money 
making. A long step in advance will have been taken 
when religious, educational and charitable institu- 
tions refuse to condone immoral methods in business 
and leave the possessor of ill-gotten gains to learn the 
loneliness of life when one prefers money to morals. 

Some have sought peace in social distinction, but 
whether they have been within the charmed circle 
and fearful lest they might fall out, or outside and 
hopeful that they might get in, they have not found 
peace. 

Some have thought, vain thought! to find peace in 
political prominence; but whether office comes by 
birth as in monarchies or by election as in repub- 
lics, it does not satisfy a selfish ambition. An office 
is conspicuous only when few can occupy it. But 
few in a generation can hope to be the chief execu- 
tive of their city, state or nation. I am glad that 
our Heavenly Father did not make the peace of the 



132 THE REAL BUYAN 

human heart depend upon the accumulation of wealth, 
or upon the securing of social or political distinction, 
for in either case but few could have enjoyed it, but 
when He made peace the reward of a conscience void 
of offense toward God and man, He put it within 
the reach of all. The poor can secure it as easily as 
the rich, the social outcast as freely as the leader of 
society and the humblest citizen equally with those 
who wield political power. [From ''The Prince of 
Peace/' an address delivered on various occasions.] 



REAL GREATNESS 

Ohrist has given us a measure of greatness which 
eliminates conflicts. When His disciples disputed 
among themselves as to which should be greatest in 
the kingdom of heaven, He rebuked them and said, 
^'Let him who would be chiefest among you be the 
servant of all.'^ Service is the measure of greatness; 
it always has been true, it is true today, and it always 
will be true, that he is greatest who does the most of 
good. And yet, what a revolution it will work in this 
old world when this standard becomes the standard of 
every life. Nearly all of our controversies and com- 
bats arise from the fact that we are trying to get some- 
thing from each other — there will be peace when our 
aim is to do something for each other. Our enmities 
and animosities arise from our efforts to get as much 
as possible out of the world — there will be peace when 



THE REAL BRYAN 133 

our endeavor is to put as much as possible into the 
world. Society will have taken an immeasurable 
step toward peace when it estimates a citizen by his 
output rather than by his income and gives the crown 
of its approval to the one who makes the largest con- 
tribution to the welfare of all. [From ''The Prince of 
Peace," an address delivered by Mr. Bryan on various 
occasions.] 



FAITH 



Man needs faith in God, therefore, to strengthen 
him in his hours of trial, and he needs it to give him 
courage to do the work of life. How can one fight 
for a principle unless he believes in the triumph of 
the right? How can he believe in the triumph of 
the right if he does not believe that God stands back 
of the truth and that God is able to bring victory to 
truth? The man of faith, believing that every word 
spoken for truth will have its influence and that no 
blow struck for righteousness is struck in vain, fights 
on without asking whether he is to fall in the be- 
ginning of the battle or to live to join in the shouts 
of triumph. He knows not whether he is to live for 
the truth or to die for it, and if he has the faith he 
ought to have, he is as ready to die for it as to live 
for it. 

Faith will not only give you strength when you 
fight for righteousness, but your faith will bring dis- 
may to your enemies. There is power in the pres- 



134 THE EEAL BRYAN 

ence of an honest man who does right because it is 
right and dares to do the right in the face of all oppo- 
sition. It is true today, and has been true through all 
history that ''One, with God, shall chase a thousand; 
and two, put ten thousand to flight." 

If your preparation is complete so that you feel con- 
scious of your ability to do great things; if you have 
faith in your fellowmen, and become a colaborer with 
them in the raising of the general level of society; if 
you have faith in our form of government, and seek to 
purge it of its imperfections so as to make it more and 
more acceptable to our own people and to the oppressed 
of other nations; and if in addition you have faith in 
God and in the triumph of the right, no one can set 
limits to your achievements. This is the greatest of 
all the ages in which to live. The railroads and tele- 
graph wires have brought the comers of the earth close 
together, and it is easier today for one to be helpful to 
the whole world than it was a few centuries ago to be 
helpful to the inhabitants of a single valley. This is 
the age of great opportunity and of great responsi- 
bility. Let your faith be large, and let this large faith 
inspire you to perform a large service. [From an ad- 
dress delivered at various college commencements, dur- 
ing 1906 and entitled ''Faith/'] 



DREAMERS 

It is the fate of those who stand in a position of 
leadership to receive credit which really belongs to 



THE REAL BRYAN 135 

their co-workers. Even the enemies of a public man 
exaggerate the importance of his work without, of 
course, intending it. I have recently been a victim of 
this exaggeration. Senator Beveridge, of Indiana, 
made a speech before the Republican Club of Lincoln 
and in it he paid me some compliments; but he said 
that I was merely a dreamer while President Roose- 
velt did things. But it is something to be a dreamer. 
I did not pay much attention to the title which he gave 
me until I read shortly afterwards that Speaker Can- 
non called me a dreamer; then Governor Cummins 
called me a dreamer, and then Governor Hanley, of 
Indiana, did also; and I saw that I could not expect 
acquittal with four such witnesses against me, and so 
I decided to plead guilty and justify. 

I w^ent to the Bible for authority, as I am in the 
habit of doing, for I have never found any other book 
which contains so much of truth or in which truth is 
so well expressed; an3 then, too, there is another rea- 
son why I quote scripture: When I quote democratic 
authority, the republicans ■ attack my authority and 
they keep me so busy defending the men from whom 
I quote that I do not have time to do the work I want 
to do, but when I quote scripture and they attack my 
authority, I can let them fight it out with the Bible 
while I go on about my business. 

The Bible tells of dreamers, and among the most 
conspicuous was Joseph. He told his dreams to his 
brothers, and his brothers hated him because of his 
dreams. And one day when his father sent him out 
where his brothers were keeping their flocks in Dothan, 



136 THE KEAL BRYAN 

they saw him coming afar off and said: '^Behold, the 
dreamer cometh/' They plotted to kill him — and he 
is not the only dreamer who has been plotted against 
in this old world. But finally they decided that in- 
stead of killing him they would put him down in a 
pit, but some merchants passing that way, the broth- 
ers decided to sell him to the merchants, and the mer- 
chants carried Joseph down into Egypt. 

The brothers deceived their father and made him 
think the wild beasts had devoured his son. 

Time went on and the brothers had almost forgot- 
ten the dreamer Joseph. But a famine came — yes, a 
famine- — and then they had to go down into Egypt and 
buy corn, and when they got there, they found the 
dreamer — and he had the corn. 

So I decided that it was not so bad after all for one 
to be a dreamer — if one has the corn. 

But the more I thought of the dreamer's place in 
history, the less I felt entitled to the distinction. 

John Boyle O'Reilly says that 

'The dreamer lives forever, 
While the toiler dies in a day." 

And is it not true? 

In traveling through Europe you find great cathe- 
drals, and back of each there was a dreamer. An archi- 
tect had a vision of a temple of worship and he put 
that vision upon paper. Then the builders began, and 
they laid stone upon stone and brick upon brick until 
finally the temple was completed — completed some- 
times centuries after the dreamer's death. And people 



THE REAL BRYAN 137 

now travel from all corners of the world to look upon 
the temple, and the name of the dreamer is known 
while the name^ of the toilers are forgotten. 

No, I cannot claim a place among the dreamers, 
but there has been a great dreamer in the realm of 
statesmanship — Thomas Jefferson. He saw a nation 
bowed beneath oppression and he had a vision of a 
self-governing people among whom every citizen was 
a sovereign, and where no one dared or cared to wear 
a crown. He put his vision upon paper and for more 
than a century multitudes have been building. They, 
are building at this temple in every nation ; some day 
it will be completed and then the people of all the 
world will find protection beneath its roof and security 
within its walls. I shall be content if, when my days 
are numbered, it can be truthfully said of me that 
Avith such ability as I possessed, and whenever oppor- 
tunity offered, I labored faithfully with the multitude 
to build this building higher in my time. [From a 
speech delivered at Lincoln, November, 1906,] 



PENSIONS 



The party expresses its pride in the soldiers and sail- 
ors of all our wars, and declares its purpose to deal 
generously with them and their dependents. A lib- 
eral policy is natural and necessary in a government 
which depends upon a citizen soldiery, instead of a 
large standing army. Self-interest, as well as grati- 



138 THE REAL BRYAN 

tude, compels the government to make bountiful pro- 
vision for those who, in the hour of danger, and at 
great sacrifice of business, health and life, tender their 
services to their country. 

The pension laws should be construed according to 
the generous spirit which prompted their passage. The 
platform very properly reiterates the position taken in 
1896, that the fact of enlistment shall be deemed con- 
clusive evidence that the soldier was sound when the 
government accepted him. A certificate given now to 
the health of a person 40 years ago, even if easily ob- 
tainable, should not have as much weight as the cer- 
tificate of the medical officer who examined the 
volunteer with a view of ascertaining his fitness for 
army service. [Letter of acceptance, 1900.] 



A CENTRAL BANK. 

It cannot be denied that the tendency among our 
great financiers is toward the establishment of just such 
a bank as is proposed by Mr. Morgan (a central bank) . 
Such a bank would be able to control not only the purse 
strings of the nation but the purse strings of the people. 
Because of this enormous power, such a bank would be 
able to control elections, dictate government policies, 
crush great principles and shape the business of the 
country according to the ends and advantages of those 
in authority in this central bank. 

Such a bank, if these men had their way, -would be 



THE REAL BRYAN 139 

endowed with money-issuing powers "without the pre- 
requisite of bond deposits." 

There are many things nowadays which threaten the 
w^elfare of the people, but of all of the propositions so 
far made none promise greater detriment than the sug- 
gestion that there be established in this country a Nick 
Biddle institution. 

And yet it may be that out of the threatened disaster 
great good will come. The creation of another Nick 
Biddle may thus provide a call for another Andrew 
Jackson ; and at no time in its history has this country 
been so sadly in need of a man of Jackson's mould as 
it is today. [From an editorial in The Commoner.'] 



ELECTION OF UNITED STATES SENATORS 

I return more strongly convinced than before of 
the importance of a change in the methods of electing 
United States senators. There is noticeable everywhere 
a distinct movement toward democracy m its broadest 
sense. In all the countries which I have visited there is 
a demand that the government be brought nearer to 
the people; in China a constitution is under considera- 
tion; in Japan the people are demanding that the 
ministry instead of being chosen by the emperor from 
among his particular friends shall be selected from par- 
liament and be in harmony with the dominant senti- 
ment; in India there is agitation in favor of a native 
congress ; in Russia the czar has been compelled to rec- 



140 THE REAL BRYAN 

ognize the popular voice in the establishment of a 
douma, and throughout Europe the movement mani- 
fests itself in various forms. In the United States this 
trend toward democracy has taken the form of a grow- 
ing demand for the election of United States senators by 
a direct vote of the people. It would be difficult to over- 
estimate the strategic advantages of this reform, for 
since every bill must receive the sanction of the senate 
as well as the house of representatives before it can be- 
come a law, no important remedial legislation of a na- 
tional character is possible until the senate is brought 
into harmony with the people. 

I am within the limits of the truth when I say that 
the senate has been for years the bulwark of predatory 
wealth and that it even now contains so many members 
w^ho owe their election to favor-seeking corporations and 
are so subservient to their masters as to prevent needed 
legislation. The popular branch of congress has four 
times declared in favor of this reform by a two-thirds 
vote and more than two-thirds of the states have de- 
manded it, and yet the senate arrogantly and impu- 
dently blocks the way. [From Madison Square Gar- 
den, New York, speech, August 30, 1906.] 



ANARCHY 



Ever since that terrible act which took from us our 
chief executive there has been much discussion of an- 
archy, and many remedies have been suggested, but 



THE REAL BRYAN 141 

they have all been in the line of suppression. I want 
to suppress the manifestations of anarchy, but I am not 
willing to stop with suppression. I do not want us to 
make the mistake that they have made in the old coun- 
tries. In those countries in which they have simply 
employed suppressive measures, they have the most 
anarchists today. We must go further, and remove 
the spirit of anarchy. There is no place in the United 
States for the spirit of anarchy. But how is this spirit 
to be removed? Not by suppression only — for this is 
but temporary. If we are to have a permanent remedy, 
we must find it in education. We must teach the peo- 
ple that a government is necessary, for it is. We must 
teach them that our government is the best government 
on earth, for it is; but that is not enough. It is the 
duty of everyone to exert himself to the uttermost to 
make this government so good that every citizen will 
be willing to die, if need be, to preserve the blessings of 
this government to his children and to his children's 
children. 

The funeral oration of Pericles is probably, with the 
exception of the oration of Demosthenes on the Crown, 
the most famous oration that has come down to us from 
the Greeks, and the most impressive part of this ora- 
tion presents as a reason for Greek patriotism the be- 
neficence of the government of that country. After 
describing the greatness of his country, and the excel- 
lence of his government, he said: ^'It was for such a 
country then, that those men, resolved not to have it 
taken from them, died fighting, and we, their survivors, 
may well be willing to suffer in its behalf." 



142 THE REAL BRYAN 

The remedy for anarchy is to make the government 
deserve the love of every citizen. They are doing most 
to cure the spirit of anarchy who are doing most to 
make the government perfect in all its parts; they are 
doing most to cultivate and spread the spirit of anarchy 
who pervert the aims of the government, rob the many 
for the benefit of the few, and then curse the people 
who do not like to be robbed. 

A government can be a great blessing or a great 
curse. When a government takes from the citizen the 
power to redress his own wrongs, it assumes the sol- 
emn duty of protecting him from every arm uplifted 
for his injury. If a government first disarms a 'citizen 
and then leaves him to be despoiled by those who act 
under the favoritism of the government, the victim of 
the wrong, brooding over, his injuries, will be likely 
to listen to the voice of the anarchist. [From a lecture 
entitled "A Conquering Nation/'] 



PATRIOTISM 

Patriotism is a virtue which must be displayed in 
peace as well as in war, and may be defined as that 
love of country which leads the citizen to give to his 
country that which his country needs at the time his 
country needs it. In time of war the citizen may be 
called upon to die for his country ; in time of peace he 
must live for his country. In time of war he may be 
called upon to give his body as a sacrifice; in time of 



THE REAL BRYAN 143 

peace his country demands his head and his heart, his 
intellect and his conscience. You have shown that 
you were willing to lay down your lives in order to pur- 
chase liberty, now you w^ill be called upon to exhibit 
self-restraint and moral courage in dealing with the 
problems of government. 

It is written that he that ruleth his own spirit is 
greater than he that taketh a city. It is too much tu 
expect that all things will be done as anyone would like 
to have them done or that everyone will receive the re- 
ward of which he and his friends may think him de- 
serving ; and in hours of disappointment it is well to re- 
member that a person can show more patriotism by suf- 
fering for a great cause than by enjoying great rewards. 

Let me horrow a story which has been used to illus- 
trate the position of the United States : A man wended 
his way through the streets of a great city. Unmindful 
of the merchandise exposed on every hand, he sought 
out a store where birds were kept for sale. Purchasing 
bird after bird he opened the cages and allowed the 
feathered songsters to fly away. When asked why he 
thus squandered his money, he replied, ''I was once a 
captive myself and I find pleasure in setting even a 
bird at liberty." 

The United States once went through the struggle 
from which you have just emerged; the American peo- 
ple once by the aid of a friendly power won a victory 
similar to that which you are now celebrating and 
our people find gratification in helping to open the 
door that barred your way to the exercise of your politi- 
cal rights. 



144 THE EEAL BRYAN 

I have come to witness the lowering of our flag and 
the raising of the flag of the Cuban republic; but the 
event will bring no humiliation to the people of my 
country, for it is better that the stars and stripes should 
be indelibly impressed upon your hearts than that they 
should float above your heads. [Address delivered at 
the banquet given by the Cuban Veterans to Governor 
General Wood and his staff, May 16, 1902.'] 



PEACE 



I will not disguise the fact that I consider this reso- 
lution a long step in the direction of peace, nor will I 
disguise the fact that I am here because I want this 
Interparliamentary Union to take just as long a step 
as possible in the direction of universal peace. We meet 
in a famous hall, and looking down upon us from these 
walls are pictures that illustrate not only the glory that 
is to be won in war, 'but the horrors that follow war. 
There is a picture of one of the great figures in English 
history, (pointing to the fresco by Maclise of the death 
of Nelson). Lord Nelson is represented as dying, and 
around him are the mangled forms of others. I under- 
stand that war brings out certain virtues. I am aware 
that it gives opportunity for the display of great patriot- 
ism; I am aware that the example of men who give (heir 
lives for their country is inspiring; but I venti:r. 
say there is as much inspiration in a noble life as uk ri- 
is in a heroic death, and I trust that one of the results 



THE EEAL BRYAN 145 

of this Interparliamentary Union will be to emphasize 
the doctrine that a life devoted to the public, and ever 
flowing, like a spring, vv'ith good, exerts an influence 
upon the human race and upon the destiny of the w^orid 
as great as any death in war. And if you will permit 
me to mention one whose career I watched with inter- 
est and whose name I revere, I will say that, in my 
humble judgment, the sixty-four years of spotless public 
service of William Ewart Gladstone will, in years to 
come, be regarded as rich an ornament to the history of 
this nation as the life of any man who poured out his 
blood upon a battlefleld. 

All movements in the interest of peace have back of 
them the idea of brotherhood. If peace is to come in 
this world, it will come because people more and more 
clearly recognize the indissoluble tie that binds each 
human being to every other. If we are to build perma- 
nent peace it must be on the foundation of the brother- 
hood of men. A poet has described how in the civil 
war that divided our country into two hostile camps a 
generation ago — in one battle a soldier in one line 
thrust hi^ bayonet through a soldier in the opposing 
line, and how, when he stooped to draw it out, he rec- 
ognized in the face of the fallen one the face of his 
brother. And then the poet describes the feeling of 
horror that overwhelmed the survivor when he realized 
that he had taken the life of one who was the child of 
the same parents and the companion of his boyhood. 
It was a pathetic story, but is it too much to hope that 
as years go by we will begin to understand that the 
whole human race is but a larger family? 



146 THE REAL BRYAN 

It is not too much to hope that as years go by human 
sympathy will expand until this feeling of unity will 
not be confined to the members of a family or to the 
members of a clan or of a community or state but shall 
be world-wide. It is not too much to hope that we, in 
this assembly, possibly by this resolution, may hasten 
the day when we shall feel so appalled at the thought 
of the taking of any human life that we shall strive 
to raise all questions to a level where the settlement 
will be by reason and not by force. [Speech before the 
Interparliamentary Union at London, July 26, 1906.] 

At the conclusion of Mr. Bryan's speech the amended 
resolution was unanimously adopted. It reads as fol- 
lows : 

"If a disagreement should arise between the con- 
tracting parties which is not one to be submitted to ar- 
bitration, they shall not resort to any act of hostility 
before they, separately or jointly, invite, as the case 
may necessitate, the formation of an international com- 
mission of inquiry or the mediation of one or more 
friendly powers. This requisition will take place, if 
necessary, according to Article VIII. of The Hague 
convention for the peaceful settlement of international 
conflicts." 



THE PRESIDENCY 

Congressman Clayton has introduced the following 
resolution : "Resolved, That the country is to be con- 
gratulated upon the recent declaration of the president 



THE REAL BRYAN 147 

of the United States affirming the wisdom of the cus- 
tom which limits^^the president to two terms, which 
declaration demonstrates that he, in comtaon with 
all other patriotic Americans, recognizes that the pre- 
cedent established ^y Washington and other presidents 
of the United States in retiring from the presidential 
office after their second term has become, by universal 
concurrence, a part of our republican system of gov- 
ernment, and that any departure from this time- 
honored custom -would be unwtse, unpatriotic and 
fraught with peril to our free institutions." 

This resolution was introduced on December 12, 
1907 ; three days before, Mr. Clayton had introduced 
a resolution expressing it as the opinion of the house 
that the precedent established by Washington and 
other presidents in retiring after a second term had by 
universal concurrence become a part of our republican 
system of government, and that "any departure from 
this time-honored custom would be unwise, unpatriotic 
and fraught with peril to our free institutions." Be- 
tween the 9th and the 12th, the president issued his 
statement announcing that he would adhere to the 
statement issued by him the night of the election to 
the effect that he would not be a candidate for another 
term. 

Mr. Clayton's second resolution ought to be adopted 
by the house. The change in form makes it congratu- 
latory rather than a warning to the president, but it 
is well that the house should go on record as opposing 
any departure from the precedent established in regard 
to the third term. While the resolution is not neces- 



148 THE EEAL BRYAN 

sary in the president's case, it may have a salutary 
influence upon future presidents in case any of them 
are urged by their admirers to consider a third term. 

It is fortunate that the position of congress can be 
expressed in a resolution applauding the president's 
determination rather than in a resolution that could be 
construed as a threat. 

Two terms are enough for any president. There 
should be no third term under any circumstances. In 
fact, one term] is enough and there are more people 
in this country who favor a one-term presidency than 
there are who would favor a third-term presidency. 
The enormous power in the hands of the president 
presents a temptation so great that the president him.- 
self should be protected against it. A man called 
upon to discharge the responsible duties of chief exec- 
utive should not be in a position to use the authority 
which he has for the gratification of a personal amJDi- 
tion. It is the summit of human aspiration — so far 
as one aspires to political position — and when one 
reaches this summit he should free himself from every 
taint of selfishness or ambition and consecrate his 
official term to a patriotic endeavor to justify the confi- 
dence of his countrymen and to win the approval of 
those who conferred upon him this greatest of all 
distinctions which mortals can confer upon a fellow 
being. [From editorial in The Commioner. 



I am in favor of an amendment to the constitution 
making the president ineligible to re-election in order 



THE REAL BRYAN 149 

that he may not be tempted by ambition to use the 
enormous patronage at his disposal to secure a contin- 
uance in office. [From letter written August 5, 1894,, 
consenting to become a candidate for the United States 
senate,} 



PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION. 

Mr. Bryan will not ask for or seek a nomination; 
and he will not assume to decide the question of his 
availability. He has been so amply recompensed by his 
party for what he has done and for what he has en- 
deavored to do that he cannot claim a nomination as 
a reward; neither should his ambition be considered, 
for he has had honors enough from his party to satis- 
fy any reasonable ambition. The only question that, 
ought to weigh with the party is whether the party 
can be strengthened and aided more by his nomination 
than by the nomination of someone else. If he can 
serve the party by being its candidate, he will accept 
the commission and make the best fight he can. If, 
however, the choice falls upon another, he will not be 
disappointed or disgruntled. His availability is a ques- 
tion to be decided not by him, not by a few leaders, 
not even by the leading newspapers that call themselves 
democratic, but by the voters of the party, and to them 
he intrusts the decision of the question — they are the 
supreme court in all matters concerning candidates, 
as they are in all matters concerning the platform. 

He assumes that they will not select him unless they 
desire to make an aggressive fight for the application 



150 THE REAL BRYAN 

of democratic principles to present conditions, and he 
also takes it for granted that the organization of the 
party will be in harmony with the platform and will 
be composed of m^n whose political records will invite 
confidence and give assurance thait a victory, if won, 
will not be a barren victory. 

No man can ask for a nomination as a compliment 
if his nomination will not benefit the party, and no 
democrat would be justified in refusing a nomination 
if his party demanded his services, and if the members 
of the party believe that Mr. Bryan's nomination will 
help the party, its principles and its policies, he will 
accept the nomination whether the indications point to 
defeat or victory. A defeat can bring no disgrace 
where the cause is a just one, but cowardice would be 
disgraceful, especially in one who is as deeply indebted 
to his party as Mr. Bryan is. 

The next campaign will be an appeal to the public 
conscience. The investigations have shown not only 
the corrupt use of large campaign funds, but the only 
source from which they can be drawn, namely — the 
corporations that seek to convert the government into 
a business asset. The democratic party stands for 
the doctrine of equal rights to all and special privileges 
to none, and therefore cannot promise favors to favor- 
seeking corporations. If it made such promises to the 
corporations, it would be guilty of duplicity, for it 
would have to betray the voters, as the republican 
party has done, in order to reward these corpora- 
tions as the republican party has rewarded them. 
The democratic campaign must be carried on by 



THE REAL BRYAN 151 

volunteers who will work because they desire the 
triumph of democratic ideas. We cannot hope to ap- 
peal to the sordid or to buy the purchasable, even if 
such a course would contribute toward democratic 
success. No one should favor Mr. Bryan's nomination 
unless the party is willing to open its books and show 
where its contributions come from and for what the 
money is expended. The republican party ought to 
be challenged to conduct its campaign in this open and 
honest way and if the republican leaders refuse to accept 
the challenge, the democrats can well afford to leave 
the issue with the public. An appeal to conscience 
is politically expedient, as well as morally right, for 
the conscience is the most potent force with which man 
deals. The national conscience has already been 
aroused, and a large majority of the voters have been 
educated to the necessity for real reform — a reform 
that will make this government again a government 
of the people, by the people and for the people. It 
only remains for the democratic party to convince the 
voters that it can be entrusted with the work of reform, 
and nothing will do more to convince the public than 
a refusal to negotiate with predatory wealth and an 
honest appeal by honest methods to the honest senti- 
ment of the country. [From editorial in The Comt- 
moner, November 15, 1907 , entitled ''Mr. Bryan's po- 
sition/'^ 

THE VICE-PRESIDENCY 
It has been intimated that Vice-President-Elect 



152 THE REAL BRYAN 

Roosevelt is desirous of receiving more consideration 
at the hands of the President than has, as a rule, been 
given to those occupying his position. Whether or not 
the report is true is not material, but the ambition, if 
he does entertain it, is an entirely worthy one. 

Why has the Vice-President been so generally ig- 
nored by the Chief Executive in the past? It ds said 
that Mr. Breckenridge was only consulted once by 
President Buchanan, and then only in regard to the 
phraseology of a Thanksgiving Proclamation. This 
incident was related to a later Vice-President who was 
noted for his skill at repartee, and he replied, with a 
twinkle in his eye : ^'Well, there is one more Thanks- 
giving Day before my term expires." 

According to the constitution the Vice-President 
succeeds to the office in case the President dies, resigns, 
is removed, or becomes unable to discharge the duties of 
the office. The public good requires that he should 
be thoroughly informed as to the details of the admin- 
istration and ready to take up the work of the Executive 
at a moment's notice. The Vice-President ought to 
be ex-officio a member of the President's cabinet; he 
ought to sit next to the President in the council 
chamber. Receiving his nomdnation from a national 
convention and his commission from the people, he 
is able to furnish the highest possible proof that he 
enjoys public respect and confidence, and the Presi- 
dent should avail himself of the wisdom and dis- 
cretion of such an adviser. While the responsibility 
for action rests upon the occupant of the White House, 



THE REAL BRYAN 153 

he is entitled to, and of course desires, all the light 
possible before deciding on any question. 

Congress can by law impose upon the Vice-President 
the duty of giving such assistance to his chief, or the 
President can of his own volition establish the prece- 
dent, and it would, in all probability, be observed by 
his successors. 

Many public men have avoided the second place on 
the ticket for fear it would relegate them to obscurity; 
some of Colonel Roosevelt's friends objected to his nom- 
ination on that ground. A Cabinet position has 
generally been considered mvDre desirable than the 
Vice-Presidency, but the latter in dignity and import- 
ance is, in fact, only second to the Presidency, and the 
occupant deserves the prominence and prestige which 
would come from more intimate official association with 
the Executive. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



FOREIGN RELATIONS 

ENTANGLING ALLIANCES 

The reasons given by Washington, Jefferson, and the 
other statesmen of the early days in support of the 
doctrine that we should maintain friendly relations 
with all nations, but enter into entan^hng alliances 
with none, are even stronger today than they were a 
hundred years ago. Our commerce is rapidly increas- 
ing, and we are brought into constan communication 
with all partfi of the world. Even if we desired to do 



164 THE REAL BRYAN 

so, we could not afford to alienate many nations by- 
cultivating unnecessary intimacy with a few. Our 
strength and standing are such that it is less necessary 
than ever before to lean for aid upon the friendliness 
of a foreign power. 

We cannot connect ourselves with European nations 
and share in their jealousies and ambitions without los- 
ing the peculiar advantage which our location, our char- 
acter and our institutions give us in the world's affairs. 
[Letter of acceptance of 1900.'] 

MONROE DOCTRINE 

The doctrine enunciated by Monroe, and approved 
by succeeding Presidents, is essential to the welfare 
of the United States. The continents of North and 
South America are dedicated to the development of 
free government. One Republic after another has 
been established, until today monarchical idea has 
barely a foothold in the new world. 

While it is not the policy of this country to interfere 
where amicable relations exist between European coun- 
tries and their dependencies in America, our people 
would look with disfavor upon any attempt on the 
part of European governments to maintain an un- 
willing or forcible sovereignty over the people living 
on this side of the Atlantic. [Letter of acceptance, 
1900.] 

COLLECTING DEBTS WITH NAVY 

I venture to suggest that we may not only promote 
peace but also advance our commlercial interests by 
announcing as a national policy that our navy will not 



THE REAL BRYAN 155 

be used for the collection of private debts. While pro- 
tecting the lives of our citizens everywhere and guar- 
anteeing pergonal safety to all who owe allegiance to 
our flag, we should, in my judgment, announce that 
persons engaging in business and holding property 
in other lands for business purposes must be subject to 
the laws of the countries in which they engage in bus- 
iness enterprises. Many profitable fields of investment 
are now closed because the people of the smaller nations 
are afraid that an investment of foreign capital will 
be made an excuse for a foreign invasion. Several 
times on this trip this fact has been brought to my at- 
tention and I am convinced that for every dollar we 
could secure to American investors by an attempt to 
put the government back of their private claims we 
would lose many dollars by closing the door to in- 
vestment. Mark the distinction between the protection 
of the lives of our citizens and the use of the navy to 
guarantee a profit on investments. We do not imprison 
for debt in the United States, neither do we put men to 
death because of their failure to pay what they owe, 
and our moral prestige as well as our commercial inter- 
ests will be conserved by assuring all nations that 
American investments depend for protection upon the 
laws of the country to which the investors go. [From 
Madison Square Garden, New York, speech, August 30, 
1906.] 

IN THE PHILIPPINES 
I have not felt that in these islands I should enter on 



156 THE EEAL BRYAN 

any disputed questions. Some things I can say with 
proprdety. While you appreciate the mjanner in which 
I have attempted to show my friendship for the Fil- 
ipinos, do not make the mistake of believing that those 
'who differ from me are not interested in this people. 
In my country there are two great political parties, 
republicans and democrats. They enter into contests 
which are strenuous, but in fundamental principles 
both are the same. Thomas Jefferson founded the 
democratic party. Abraham Lincoln was the first 
great republican. Lincoln has left records to show the 
admiration he felt for the principles and utterances of 
Thomas Jefferson. 

In two contests I was defeated by the republicans 
but I believe as much in the patriotism of those who 
voted against me as I do in the patriotism of those who 
fought for me. Those who agreed with me announced 
a policy for the Philippines. Those who opposed me 
did not. But do not make the mistake of believing 
that those others are enemies to the islands. I believe 
the majority of all American people without regard to 
politics or party are sincere well-wishers of the Fil- 
ipinos. Yes, all. 

However you may differ about policies, all your 
people speak well of what our country stands for in 
regard to education. The fact that our people are en- 
couraging education among you ought to be accepted 
as proof that they intend to act justly toward you. If 
they intended to do injustice they would not educate 
you, for the more educated you are the more quickly 
you will detect and denounce injustice. Let me remind 



THE REAL BRYAN 157 

you that these little children who are attending school 
speak more eloquently in your behalf than I am able 
to do. The more educated people you have amiong 
you the easier will be the task for those who speak for 
you in the United States. The more respect your peo- 
ple show for the law the easier will be the task for those 
who speak for you. The higher the ideals shown in 
your language and your lives the easier the task of 
those who speak for you. I want you to have as much 
confidence in the republicans dn power as I have, 
though I have been twice defeated by them. And 
when I say this I am not trying to pay them for any- 
thing. I do not owe them anything. When I say 
trust them, I say it because I believe the American 
people want to do right, and, given the time, will find 
out what is right on every question. 

Differences of opinion must be expected. In fact, 
that people differ in opinion is to their credit rather 
than to their discredit. Those who agree in everything 
do not as a rule think on anything. Differences of 
opinion must not only be expected but mu3t be re- 
spected. Do not expect our people to administer 
authority here without mistakes. They make mistakes 
at home, and if we democrats come into power, good as 
we are, we will make mistakes. The Spanish made 
mistakes here, and so would the Filipinos. I suggest 
that if you want to help us in the United States who 
are interested in you, you can do it by supporting with 
all the enthusiasm you have the efforts made by Amer- 
ica here. Let us hope that whoever is in authority 



158 THE KEAL BRYAN 

here and there, they will have the wisdom to so promote 
the welfare of all as to unite both peoples in an eternal 
affection. [Address to Filipinos at Malolos, December 
28, 1905.1 



SWOLLEN FORTUNES 

The phrase "swollen fortunes" is a happy one for 
"swollen" means something unnatural or abnormal, 
and suggests disease. No objection is raised to natural 
fortunes; normal wealth is healthy and wholesome. 
There is every reason to encourage the amassing of 
mioney by legitimate means; those who grow rich in 
honest ways are to be commended rather than censured, 
but it is high time that it should be known that there 
are unearned fortunes, for until the fact of their exist- 
ence is known no inquiry will be made into the source 
of such fortunes; and until the source is known no 
remedy can be applied. 

In order to distinguish the swollen fortunes from 
the natural ones we must adopt some rule or standard. 
How may a man honestly accumulate a fortune? By 
giving to society a service commensurate with the re- 
ward which he draws from society. It is not possible 
to define with m^athematical accuracy just how much 
a man's services are worth, for there is no tribunal 
which is vested with power to weigh the facts and de- 
termine the question. And if the question were 
submitted to any human tribunal it is not at all cer- 



THE REAL BRYAN 159 

tain that the decision would be in accord with justice, 
for often the greatest services are not appreciated at 
the time. By common consent it has been left to 
society at large to determine what a man shall receive 
for his work, and competition is the word which we 
use to describe the method by which the value is fixed. 
As long as competition is left free each person receives 
from society the price which society fixes upon his 
work, as compared with the work of others. 

This rule, that each should draw from society in pro- 
portion as he contributes to the welfare of society, is 
in harmony with the divine law of rewards, in so far as 
that law can be gathered from nature. When God 
gave us the earth with its fertile soil, the sunshine with 
its warmth and the showers with their moisture. He 
proclaimed as clearly as if His voice had thundered 
from the clouds, ''Go work, and in proportion to your 
industry and your intelligence, so shall be your re- 
ward.'^ 

The earth yields her treasures to those who labor, and 
she rewards intelligent labor more liberally than igno- 
rant labor. Two men, living side by side, may culti- 
vate farms of equal area and fertility, and yet one grows 
rich while the other grows poor. If they are equally 
intelligent the more industrious one will surpass the 
less industrious; if they are equally industrious the 
more intelligent one will forge ahead. Industry and 
intelligence are both necessary; either is fruitless with- 
out the other. (AVe are not speaking now of economy 
in the expenditure of the income, or of the use made of 
the money earned; we shall refer to this later.) Other 



160 THE EEAL BRYAN 

things being equal, the farmer who puts the most intel- 
ligence into his work will secure the best results. He 
will examine the soil, so as to plant the crops to which 
the soil is suited; he will be careful to select the best 
seed, so as to secure the maximum yield ; he will investi- 
gate the different kinds of cultivation and ascertain 
the best time for planting; he will use the implements 
which will make each hour's work accomplish most. 
That he is entitled to the rewards that naturally follow 
his work is universally recognized; and, we may add, 
no one has ever traced a swollen fortune to a farm. 
From the beginning of history no one has actually 
made out of the soil by his own unaided efforts, a for- 
tune large enough to be, in itself, a menace to his coun- 
try. A man might make money enough in some other 
way to buy up the land of a community or of a state, 
and, through a system of landlordism, he might sap 
the life out of the producers of wealth, but he could 
not begin by the cultivation of the lands — as large a 
piece as he could himself cultivate — and out of the land 
accumulate enough to make himself dangerous to his 
fellows. [ From an editorial in The Commoner.'] 



INCOME TAX 

Congress should have authority to levy and collect 
an income tax whenever necessary, and an amendment 
to the federal constitution specifically conferring such 
authority ought to be supported by even those who may 



THE EEAL BRYAN 161 

think the tax unnecessary at this time. In the hour of 
danger the government can draft the citizen ; it ought 
to be able to draft the pocketbook as well. Unless 
money is more precious than blood, we cannot afford 
to give greater protection to the incomes of the rich 
than to the lives of the poor. [Letter of acceptance, 
1900,] 



The income tax, which some in our country have 
denounced as a socialistic attack upon wealth, has, I 
am pleased to report, the endorsement of the most 
conservative countries in the old world. It is a per- 
manent part of the fiscal system of most of the coun- 
tries of Europe and in many places it is a graded tax, 
the rate being highest upon the largest incomes. 
England has long depended upon the income tax for a 
considerable part of her revenues and the English 
commission is now investigating the proposition to 
change from a uniform to a graded tax. 

I have been absent too long to speak with any au- 
thority on the public sentiment in this country at 
this time, but I am so convinced of the justice of the 
income tax that I feel sure that the people will sooner 
or later demand an amendment to the constitution 
which will specifically authorize an income tax and 
thus make it possible for the burdens of the federal 
government to be apportioned among the people in 
proportion to their ability to bear them. It is little 
short of a disgrace to our country that while it is able 
to command the lives of its citizens in time of war, it 



162 THE EEAL BRYAN 

can not, even in the most extreme emergency, compel 
wealth to bear its share of the expenses of the govern- 
ment which protects it. [From Madison Square Gar- 
den, New York, speech, August 30, 1906.'] 



CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS 

Mr. Roosevelt's suggestion that the government ap- 
propriate money for the legitimate expenses of politi- 
cal parties is original and is entitled to serious con- 
sideration. The appropriation might be justified on 
the same ground that we defend the printing of bal- 
lots in payment of primary expenses by the govern- 
ment. A few years ago we had to raise money by 
subscription to print our ballots ; now they are printed 
at the expense of the public. 

In some places the cost of the primaries is still 
borne by the candidates, while in other places it is 
paid by the county, city or state. The public is in- 
terested in having a campaign so conducted that the 
issues shall be presented clearly and voters fully in- 
formed. There is no doubt that the republican party 
has been able to secure enormous campaign funds by 
selling legislation in advance to special interests. If 
the government should appropriate a reasonable 
amount for campaign expenses and then apportion 
that appropriation between the parties according to the 
vote cast at the last general election, it would enable 
all parties to present their policies and thus insure 
more intelligent action on the part of voters. 



THE REAL BRYAN 163 

The president's recommendation ought to be taken 
up and discussed in all sections of the country. It 
ought to be, as we have no doubt it will be, ultimately- 
enacted into law. If to this is added a provision for- 
bidding private contributions, the law will go far 
toward the elimination of corruption in politics, for 
when the government furnishes the necessary funds it 
will require a strict accounting of the money spent. 

In an article printed several months ago in the 
Reader Magazine Mr. Bryan said: 

^^It is not sufficient to prevent contributions from 
corporations, for where there is a great temptation to 
aid in campaigns, the officers will find ways of con- 
tributing that will not bring the corporation within 
the letter of the law. It is necessary that the contri- 
butions of individuals shall be made public where 
those contributions are to any considerable amount, 
and it is also necessary that the publication shall be 
made in advance of the election in order that the voter 
may know what influences are at work in the cam- 
paign. One of the Washington correspondents has 
reported the president as considering a law which will 
provide all the parties with necessary campaign funds 
to be paid out of the public treasury. I do not know 
whether this statement is authoritative, but it is a 
suggestion worthy of consideration. If each party were 
furnished with a moderate campaign fund in propor- 
tion to the votes which it cast at the preceding elec- 
tion, and then all other contributions were prohibited 
by law, corruption in politics might be reduced to a 
minimum. And why should not the reasonable and 



164 THE REAL BRYAN 

necessary expenses of a campaign be paid by the 
public, if the campaign is carried on in the interest 
of the public? At present, in any controversy be- 
tween predatory wealth and the masses of the people, 
the corporations which are seeking special privileges 
and favors are able to furnish enormous campaign 
funds to the party subservient to them, and no one 
can doubt that these campaign funds are furnished 
upon an understanding, expressed or implied, that they 
shall be allowed to reimburse themselves out of the 
pockets of the people." [From an editorial in The 
Commoner.] 



In the discussion of laws respecting campaign con- 
tributions, one point is often overlooked, namely, that 
the publication of receipts and expenditures should 
precede, not follow, the election. The efforts thus far 
made to secure publicity have been largely nullified 
by the fact that the publication comes too late. The 
facts brought out after the election, not being con- 
nected with the next campaign, are of little service 
in that campaign. The fear of a post-election publi- 
cation will, of course, deter some from corrupt con- 
tributions, but a publication before election w^ould still 
more powerfully deter. The public has a right to 
know not only who contributes and how much but 
the information ought to be given before the people 
vote. Nothing will so tend to prevent the employ- 
ment of a large corruption fund as the publication 
of the fund before the election, for the party that 



THE REAL BRYAN 165 

relies upon the trusts to finance its campaign will find 
that the support of the trust magnates will do the 
party more harm than the contributions will do it 
good. Let the facts be known before the election. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



The investigations which have been in progress dur- 
ing the past year have disclosed the business methods 
of those who a few years ago resented any inspection 
of their schemes and hid their rascality under high- 
sounding phrases. These investigations have also dis- 
closed the source of enormous campaign funds which 
have been used to debauch elections and corrupt the 
ballot. The people see now what they should have 
seen before, namely, that no party can exterminate 
the trusts so long as it owes its political success to 
campaign contributions secured from the trusts. The 
great corporations do not contribute their money to 
any party except for immunity expressly promised or 
clearly implied. The president has recommended leg- 
islation on this subject, but so far his party has failed 
to respond. 

No important advance can be made until this cor- 
rupting influence is eliminated and I hope that the 
democratic party will not only challenge the repub- 
lican party to bring forward effective legislation on this 
subject, but will set an example by refusing to receive 
campaign contributions from corporations and by 
opening the books so that every contributor of any 
considerable sum may be known to the public before 



166 THE REAL BRYAN 

the election. The great majority of corporations are 
engaged in legitimate business and have nothing to 
fear from hostile legislation and they should not be 
permitted to use the money of the stockholders to 
advance the political opinions of the officers of the 
corporations. Contributions should be individual, not 
corporate, and no party can afford to receive contri- 
butions even from individuals when the acceptance 
of those contributions secretly pledge the party to a 
course which it can not openly avow. In other words, 
politics should be honest, and I mistake political con- 
ditions in America if they do not presage improve- 
ment in the conduct of campaigns. [From Madison 
Square Garden, Neiv York, speech, August 30, 1906.] 



GAMBLING— GREAT AND SMALL 

GAMBLING ON FUTURES 

There seems to be no doubt that Wall Street specu- 
lation is the cause of the present financial panic, and 
this speculation is made possible by the fact that a 
large amount of fictitious and watered stock is issued. 
The small bankers throughout the country claim that 
their institutions are perfectly solvent, that their assets 
are good and that their only embarrassment is that 
they can not collect the money which they have de- 
posited in eastern banks in the reserve cities. In 
suspending payments the bankers have done what 
they think is necessary for the protection of them- 



THE REAL BRYAN 167 

selves and their depositors, and it is not fair to criticise 
them unless one has a better knowledge of the situa- 
tion than they have; but somebody is to blame, and 
from the evidence at hand it would seem that the 
blame rests, first — with the speculators of New York 
who, in their desire to make money rapidly, have dis- 
regarded the interests of the rest of the country; 
second — with the New York banks and trust com- 
panies which have loaned money for speculation; and 
third, with the republican party whose leaders have 
linked our whole financial system to Wall Street so 
that the people throughout the country are forced to 
suffer for the sins of the masters of high finance. It 
requires an object lesson to make people consider 
remedial legislation ; abuses are never remedied until 
there is suffering, and the present panic ought to result 
in legislation which wall give to the public a needed 
protection. Gambling is one of the curses of the 
present day — not merely the small gambling which is 
carried on in back alleys and obscure places, but the 
gambling which goes on in the chambers of commerce, 
the boards of trade and the stock exchanges. Pur- 
chases and sales of commodities and stocks when the 
sellers have nothing to sell and the purchasers have 
no intention of receiving the goods — this may be called 
business, but it is nothing more nor less than gam- 
bling, and in some respects it is w^orse than gambling 
at the card table. First, it is on a larger scale than the 
gambling in the houses known as gambling houses; 
and second, the men w^ho gamble on the markets 
sometimes control the markets and thus take an unfair 



168 THE REAL BRYAN 

advantage of those who enter into the game with 
them. It is time to stop gambling and one of the 
best ways to stop it is to stop the issue of watered 
stock and fictitious capitalization, for these are the 
cards with which the big gamblers play. A corpora- 
tion whose stock rests upon actual value does not 
furnish much of an opportunity for exploitation. 
What the gambler wants is a stock whose value is un- 
certain, because then the market price can be juggled 
with. Just as a farm, whose value is to a certain ex- 
tent fixed, does not furnish the same opportunity to 
the speculator as the mine whose value is undeter- 
mined, so the railroad stock that rests upon a value 
to be found in the road itself is not subject to fluctua- 
tion like the stock of a road whose dividends depend 
upon the ability of the manager to monopolize busi- 
ness. 

We ought to have legislation that will put our rail- 
roads and other industrial enterprises upon an honest 
basis, and then we ought to have legislation forbid- 
ding the use of national bank deposits to aid gambling. 
If the New York banks are to be allowed to receive 
deposits from country banks, such New York banks 
ought in all fairness be forbidden to use country de- 
posits to support speculative enterprises. All specula- 
tion is risky — if there were no risk in the matter, 
there would be no speculation about it, and the small 
banks of the country have a right to insist that their 
solvency shall not be jeopardized by the use of their 
deposits for gambling purposes. And if the bankers 
themselves do not insist upon this, their depositors 



THE REAL BRYAN 169 

ought to insist upon it, for while the local banker may 
be excused for refusing to honor checks in the present 
stringency, his depositors can not be blamed if they 
denounce a system whereby the local bankers are 
driven into the net spread by New York financiers. 
[F7'om an editorial in The Commoner.] 

THE GAMBLING VICE 

Of all the vices that afflict the race it is doubtful if 
any vice is more demoralizing than the vice of gam- 
bling for it impoverishes the mind and the morals as 
well as the purse. A press dispatch tells of a raid 
recently made on a New York poolroom in which some 
twenty women were found among the patrons. They 
are described as ^'well dressed," ''most of them mar- 
ried," "one a white-haired grandmother" and one 
"the wife of a millionaire." It happens to be women 
this time, but the papers are full of such items in 
which men are the principals. Until a few years ago 
lotteries were chartered in some of the states and per- 
mitted to use the mails, and it is but a few months 
since the guessing contest was prohibited. Even now 
lotteries are licensed in some European nations and 
in some of the republics of South and Central Amer- 
ica. Missouri has just put an end to licensed betting 
on horse racing and Ohio did the same thing a year 
earlier. The stock exchanges are still permitted to 
rob the unwary but recent investigations are awaken- 
ing the public conscience and these exchanges will 
sooner or later be compelled to purge themselves of 
their speculative features. 



170 THE REAL BRYAN 

The evil of gambling, in whatever form it may ap- 
pear, is that it cultivates a desire to get something for 
nothing and substitutes the law of chance for God's 
law of "reward earned by service." Some bad habits 
affect only the body, at least in their beginning, but 
gambling immediately attacks the will and under- 
mines the character. It is a heart disease and par- 
alyzes one's energy. The man who becomes addicted 
to this vice soon ceases to be a producer because he 
can not content himself with the slow returns of 
legitimate effort; then he neglects those dependent 
upon him and wastes that which he has already accu- 
mulated. By this time he is ready to go a step further 
and use trust funds and cheat those whom he entices 
into a game. Sometimes the cheating is done with 
loaded dice or marked cards; sometimes by shells and 
slight of hand; sometimes it is done on a larger scale 
by grain corners, wash-sales or by the manipulation of 
stocks. After swindling comes disgrace and often 
suicide. Nothing but a higher ideal will prevent one's 
falling into the habit and nothing but moral regen- 
eration will restore one who has fallen into the habit. 
No malady is so difficult to cure as one that attacks 
the will. Parents ought to warn their children against 
gambling; ministers ought to warn their congrega- 
tions against it, and newspapers ought to point out its 
evils to their readers. Only when one is willing to 
give to society a dollar's worth of service for a dollar's 
worth of pay and is as careful to give good measure 
as he is to demand good measure is he on solid ground. 
An honest purpose begets honest methods and the two 



THE REAL BRYAN 171 

give peace of mind and the best assurance of success 
in every walk of life. [Commoner editorial in 1905,] 

STOCK EXCHANGE GAMBLING 

It is not necessary to add that grain gambling and 
stock gambling lead to embezzlements and business 
failures whereby many lose; it is not necessary to 
enumerate other demoralizing effects of market spec- 
ulation. It is not necessary to call attention to the 
fact that in most cases ruin finally comes upon the 
speculator as well as upon those whom he dupes and 
deceives. It is sufficient to say that the men who en- 
gage in such speculation not only make no contribu- 
tion to the welfare of society but constantly sacrifice 
the interests of innocent people to their own greed. 
Those who seek by legislation to put the board of 
trade and the stock exchange upon an honest basis and 
to make them contribute to the security of business 
and to the welfare of the country, are the friends of 
property, not the enemies of property. Such legisla- 
tion would be beneficial to the farmers who produce, 
to the consumers for whom the farmer produces and 
to the middlemen, and hurtful only to those whom 
selfishness has made blind to the rights of others as 
well as their own highest good. [From an article 
published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1905.1 



CHINESE EXCLUSION 

If every American could visit China, the question 
of Chinese immigration would soon be settled upon a 



172 THE EEAL BRYAN 

permanent basis, for no one can become acquainted 
with the Chinese coolie without recognizing the im- 
possibility of opening the doors of our country to him 
without injustice to our own laboring men, demoraliza- 
tion to our social ideas, injury to China's reputation 
among us and danger to our diplomatic relations with 
that country. 

It would require generations to bring our people 
down to a plane upon which they could compete with 
the Chinese, and this would involve a large impair- 
ment in the efficiency of their work. 

It is not just to the laboring men of the United 
States that they should be compelled to labor upon 
the basis of Chinese coolie labor or stand idle and 
allow their places to be filled by an alien race with no 
thought of permanent identification with our country. 
The American laborer not only produces the wealth 
of our nation in time of peace, but he is its sure de- 
fender in time of war. Who will say that his welfare 
and the welfare of his family shall be subordinated to 
the interests of those who abide with us but for a 
time, who, while with us, are exempt from draft or 
military burden, and who, on their return, drain our 
country of its currency? A foreign landlord system 
is Tilmost universally recognized as a curse to a na- 
tion, because the rent money is sent out of the coun- 
try; Chinese immigration on a large scale would give 
us the evil effects of foreign landlordism in addition 
to its other objectionable features. 

A sentimental argument is sometimes advanced to 
the effect that we have no moral right to exclude any 



THE REAL BRYAN 173 

who seek to come among us. Whether this argument 
has any force depends, first, on the purpose of the 
immigrant, and second, upon our power to a^imilate. 
If his coming is purely commercial and he has no 
ambition to improve us by his coming or to profit 
morally and intellectually by contact with us, he can- 
not demand admission upon moral or sentimental 
ground. And even if his paramount reason for com- 
ing were a desire to learn of us, it would still be neces- 
sary to consider how far we could go in helping him 
without injury to ourselves. While visiting the sick 
is most meritorious, one who gave all his time to such 
work, leaving no time for sleep, would soon be a physi- 
cal wreck; feeding the hungry is most commendable, 
but one who gave away all of his substance, reserving 
nothing for his own nourishment, could not long serve 
his fellows. In like manner, our own power to help 
the world by the absorption of surplus population has 
certain natural and necessary limitations. We have a 
mission to fulfill and we cannot excuse ourselves if we 
cripple our energies in a mistaken effort to carry a 
burden heavier than our strength can support. 

It is better to be frank and candid with the Chinese 
government. There are twenty times as many Chi- 
nese in America as there are Americans in China, 
and we give to China as much in trade advantage as 
we receive from her, not to speak of the money which 
Americans voluntarily contribute to extend education 
and religion in the Celestial empire. China has no 
reason to complain, for we have been generous in 
dealing with her. We can still be not only just, but 



174 THE EEAL BRYAN 

generoiis, but it would be neither kindness to her nor 
fairness to our own people to invite an immigration 
of such a character as to menace our own producers of 
wealth, endanger our social system and disturb the 
cordial friendship and good will between America and 
China. [From letter on China.'} 



The Chinese exclusion act has proven an advantage 
to the country, and its continuance and strict enforce- 
ment, as well as its extension to other similar races, 
are imperatively necessary. The Asiatic is so essen- 
tially different from the American that he cannot be 
assimilated with our population, and is, therefore, not 
desirable as a permanent citizen. His presence as a 
temporary laborer, preserving his national identity, 
and maintaining a foreign scale of wages and living, 
must ever prove an injustice to American producers, 
as well as a perpetual source of irritation. [Letter of 
acceptance, 1900.] 



AMERICAN IN FOREIGN MISSIONS 

That our missionaries often make mistakes need not 
be denied. They are human, and to err is the lot of 
all. A missionary among strangers must exercise more 
sagacity and discretion than one who works among 
people of his own race. The wonder is not that mis- 
sionaries make mistakes, but that they do not make 
more than are now charged to them. It is even possi- 



THE REAL BRYAN 175 

ble that a missionary occasionally proves untrue to his 
calling — is it strange that this should happen to a 
missionary almost alone and with but little sympathetic 
support, when it sometimes happens to ministers who 
are surrounded by friends and hedged in so that a fall 
would seem almost impossible? 

One part of the missionary's work has received scant 
notice, namely — the planting of western ideas in the 
Orient. *rhe daily life of a missionary is not only a 
constant sermon, but to a certain extent, an exposition 
of western ways. His manner of dress and his manner 
of living are noted, and even if he did not say a word, 
he would make an impression upon those about him. It 
would be worth while to send Christians to the Orient 
merely to show the fullness and richness of a Christian 
life, for, after all, the example of an upright person, 
living a life of service according to the Christian ideal, 
is more eloquent than any sermon — it is the unanswer- 
able argument in favor of our religion. 

It is sometimes suggested by those unfriendly to mis- 
sionary w^ork that missionaries live in too great com- 
fort. This criticism will not have weight with those 
who have attempted to live in the Orient upon the sal- 
ary of a missionary, but even if the missionaries lived 
more luxuriously than they do, that would still exert 
a beneficial influence. As the Chinaman becomes edu- 
cated he learns of the manners and customs of the peo- 
ple of other nations, and the home of the missionary 
gives an opportunity for comparisons. In China there 
is polygamy, while the missionary has but one wife. 
In the Chinese home the birth of a son is the occasion 



176 TPIE REAL BRYAN 

for rejoicing; the birth of a daughter an occasion for 
less rejoicing, if not actual mourning. In the mission- 
ary's home the girl is as welcome as the boy. The mis- 
sionary's wife is not only a standing rebuke to the 
practice of foot-binding, but is a stimulus to the move- 
ment now setting in for the education of women. 

The Catholic missionaries reach a class which might 
not be reached by Protestant missionaries, and Protest- 
ant missionaries appeal to some who could not be 
reached by the Catholic missionaries. Each church 
does its own work in its own way, and the result is bet- 
ter than if either church attempted to follow the exam- 
ple of the other. The celibacy of the priest and his 
voluntary sacrifice of home and its joys that he may 
more fully devote himself to religion — these appeal to 
some, especially tx) those who have been impressed with 
the asceticism of the religious teachers of the Orient. 
There are others, however, who are more impressed with 
a form of Christianity which does not deny to its minis- 
ters the advantages of the family. In other words, 
the different branches of the Christian church, each 
pursuing its own way, meet the widely different needs 
of the heathen better than any one church could do it. 

Why spend money on foreign missions? If the ori- 
ental is happy in his idolatry or in his worship of God 
through other religious forms, why disturb him ? These 
questions may be answered in various ways, but one 
answer will suffice for the purpose of this article. The 
Christian ideal of life is the highest ideal. There is no 
more beautiful conception of life than that it is an over- 
flowing spring. There is no true measure of greatness 



THE REAL BRYAN 177 

except the Christian measure, namely — service. If 
this ideal is good enough for America, it is good 
enough for all the world. If truth must, according 
to eternal laws, triumph, then this ideal must triumph 
over all lower ones, and how can it triumph over lower 
ideals unless it is brought into contact with them? If 
we see a man engaged in some useful work, but laboring 
with antiquated tools, it is a kindness to him to offer 
him an implement that will increase his effectiveness. 
If we see a man following a low ideal and making but 
little of life, is it not a kindness to offer him a higher 
one Avhich will not only enlarge his usefulness but his 
happiness as well? If the Christian ideal is worthy to 
be followed in America, it is worthy to be presented in 
every land, and experience has shown that it is an ideal 
capable of being made universal, for it has commended 
itself to people of every clime and of every tongue. 

But it is said that we must not neglect home missions 
in our zeal to carry the gospel and its attendant bless- 
ings to foreign shores. This is a familiar objection, but 
as a rule it is urged by those who do the least for home 
missions. I think I am far within the truth when I 
say that the most liberal contributors to foreign mis- 
sions are also the most liberal contributors to home 
missions and that those who are so afraid that w^ork at 
home wall be sacrificed for work abroad are the very 
ones who themselves make few sacrifices for the w^ork 
at home. The same spirit which leads one to be gener- 
ous in the support of those benevolences which are im- 
mediately about him leads him to take an interest in 
the needy wherever they are found. The same spirit 



178 THE REAL BRYAN 

which makes one anxious to have the Sermon on the 
Mount known in his neighborhood leads him to de- 
sire that the knowledge of this sermon and the philoso- 
phy which it contains shall be brought to the people of 
ail the world. 

There is another answer to those who say that we 
must confine our efforts to the home field until we have 
supplied every moral need. If any individual refuses to 
assist in the improvement of others until he has himself 
reached perfection, who will be able to aid others? In 
the effort to help others one often finds more improve- 
ment than could come from concentration of his ef- 
forts on himself. So the country which refuses to 
extend a helping hand to other lands until all its peo- 
ple have passed beyond the need of improvement will 
do nothing for the world. As the contributions to be- 
nevolences would be small indeed, if only those con- 
tributed who could do so without sacrifice, so the con- 
tributions to the world's advancement would be but 
slight if only those helped others who were not them- 
selves in need of help. 

*'Let him who would be the chief est among you be 
the servant of all:" if this is the measure of national 
greatness, then our nation is the greatest of all, for its 
contributions to the world surpass the contributions 
made by any other nation. These contributions are 
mado in ttiree ways: First, it contributes through the 
men and women who have come from other lands to 
study here, and who carry American ideas back to their 
homes ; second, through the men and women who have 



THE REAL BRYAN 179 

gone to other lands as preachers and teachers; and 
third, through books and printed reports. 

Making due allowance for the frailty of human na- 
ture and for the mistakes which all are liable to make, 
it may be said without fear of successful contradiction 
that the missionaries, physicians and teachers, who con- 
secrate themselves to the advancement of Asia's mil- 
lions along Christian lines ax'e as high minded, as 
heroic, as self-sacrificing, and, considering the great 
destiny of the race, as useful as any equal number of 
men and women to be found in any other part of the 
world. [From letter on American Foreign Missions.'] 



THE REAL DEFENDERS OF PROPERTY 

Whenever any vested wrong is to be righted or any 
long-standing abuse corrected, those who profit by the 
wrong or the abuse are prompt to pose as the defenders 
of property and to charge the reformers with attack- 
ing property rights. This is the historic attitude of 
those who oppose remedial legislation. The insincerity 
of the position taken is usually shown by the arguments 
employed by these self-styled champions of property, 
and one of the best illustrations of these arguments is 
to be found in the story of Demetrius, the silversmith. 
It reads as follows: 

"And the same tnne there arose no small stir about 
that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a sil- 
versmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought 



180 THE REAL BRYAN 

no small gain unto the craftsmen ; whom he called to- 
gether with the workmen of like occupation, and said, 
*Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 
Moreover, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus 
but almost throughout all Asia, thi^ Paul hath per- 
suaded and turned away much people, saying that they 
be no gods, which are made with hands. So that not 
only this our craft is in danger to be set at naught; 
but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana 
should be despised and her magnificence should be 
destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.' 
And when they heard these sayings, they were full of 
wrath saying, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' " 

The silversmith was profiting by the worship of idols ; 
the making of images was the source of his income. 
He called together those who were engaged in the same 
occupation and when all were convinced that Paul's 
preaching would bring them financial injury they 
joined in a protest, but they did not give their real 
reason for opposing Christianity — namely, that it would 
cause them a money loss, but they pretended a fervent 
devotion to the goddess Diana. So, today, the benefi- 
ciaries of bad laws and bad governmental systems are 
defending their pecuniary interests with arguments 
that imply great devotion to the public welfare. Hav- 
ing satisfied themselves that the reforms demanded by 
the people will lessen their power to extort from, and 
to tyrannize over, the people, these monopolists and 
their defenders shout ''Great is property! Great are 
the rights of property!" While the issue between the 
man and the dollar seems to be an acute one, yet in the 



THE REAL BRYAN 181 

last analysis there can be no issue between human 
rights and property rights, for nothing more surely un- 
dermines property rights than a disregard for human 
rights, and nothing brings greater security to property 
than a scrupulous regard for the natural rights of each 
human being. But we must always remember that 
human rights are paramount. In fact, everjrthing de- 
pends upon the establishment of the true relation be- 
tween the individual and dull, inanimate property. 

The house and its foundation are indissolubly con- 
nected, and we can not think of one without the other. 
So human rights and property rights are indissolubly 
connected. We cannot think of the one without the 
other and as, in the building of a house, we must think 
of the foundation first and of the house as a super- 
structure, so in thinking of society we must necessarily 
think of human rights first and of property rights as 
resting upon human rights. He who talks of property 
rights as if they could exist without a regard for human 
rights, speaks as foolishly as one who would attempt 
to build a house without considering the foundation 
upon which it is to stand. [From an article published 
in the Saturday Evening Post in 1905.] 



AMERICA'S MISSION 

Much has been said of late about Anglo-Saxon civili- 
zation. Far be it from me to detract from the service 
rendered to the world by the sturdy race w^hose Ian- 



182 THE REAL BRYAN 

guage we speak. The union of the Angle and the 
Saxon formed a new and vahiable type, but the process 
of race evohition was not completed when the Angle 
and the Saxon met. A still later type has appeared 
which is superior to any which has existed heretofore ; 
and with this new type will come a higher civilization 
than any which has preceded it. Great has been the 
Greek, the Latin, the Slav, the Celt, the Teuton and 
the Anglo-Saxon, but greater than any of these is the 
American, in whom are blended the virtues of them all. 

Civil and religious liberty, universal education and 
the right to participate, directly or through represent- 
atives chosen by himself in all the affairs of govern- 
ment — these give to the American citizen an oppor- 
tunity and an inspiration which can be found nowhere 
else. 

Standing upon the vantage ground already gained, 
the American people can aspire to a grander destiny 
than has opened before any other race. 

Anglo-Sxon civilization has taught the individual to 
protect his own rights ; American civilization will teach 
him to respect the rights of others. 

Anglo-Saxon, civilization has taught the individual 
to take care of himself ; American civilization, proclaim- 
ing the equality of all before the law, will teach him 
that his own highest good requires the observance of 
the commandment: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself." 

Anglo-Saxon civilization ha^, by force of arms, ap- 
plied the art of government to other races for the bene- 
fit of Anglo-Saxons; American civilization will, by the 



THE REAL BRYAN 183 

influence of example, excite in other races a desire for 
self-government and a determination to secure it. 

Anglo-Saxon civilization has carried its flag to every 
clime and defended it with forts and garrisons ; Ameri- 
can civilization will imprint its flag upon the hearts of 
all who long for freedom. 

To American civilization, all hail! 

"Time's noblest offspring is the last!" 

{Extract from speech delivered at Washington Day 
banquet given by the Virginia Democratic Association 
at Washington, D. C, February 22, 1899.] 



CONSCIENCE 

Sometimes when we see the war spirit rampant, we 
are tempted to say with the poet, 

"Right forever on the scaffold, 
Wrong forever on the throne." 

But in such hours we can draw inspiration and encour- 
agement from Holy Writ. When Elijah was fleeing 
from the wrath of wicked Jezebel and believed all the 
prophets to have been slain, the Lord commanded him 
to stand upon the mountain, and as he stood there, a 
mighty wind swept by him and rent rocks asunder, but 
God was not in the wind ; and after the wind came an 
earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake; and 
after the earthquake a fire, but God was not in the 



184 THE EEAL BRYAN 

fire; and after the fire, a still, small voice, and it 
was the voice of God. And so, today, through- 
out the world an increasing number standing 
upon the heights, are coming to believe that God is 
not in the ironclads that sweep the ocean with their 
guns, that God is not in the armies that shake the 
earth with their tread, or in the fire of musketry, but 
in the still, small voice of justice that issues from tri- 
bunals like that instituted at The Hague. There have 
been times when bravery upon the battlefield was con- 
sidered the highest form of virtue. There have been 
times when intellectual supremacy and intellectual in- 
dependence were considered all-sufficient, but the time 
is coming when heart characteristics will receive the 
attention that they deserve: the time is coming when we 
shall not define civilization as Buckle defined it, "as 
measured by the mastery of the human mind over the 
forces of nature," but shall define it as the harmonious 
development of the human race, physically, mentally 
and morally. The time is coming when physical per- 
fection alone will not satisfy, when intellectual train- 
ing alone will not be sufficient, but when the spiritual 
man will be considered and his welfare guarded. I be- 
lieve that we are to build this permanent peace, this 
permanent arbitration, not upon a plutocracy of wealth 
or upon an aristocracy of learning, but upon the democ- 
racy of the heart. We shall then arraign every evil 
at the bar of the public conscience, for the most potent 
force of which man has personal knowledge is the con- 
science. That conscience can be awakened, and when 
awakened, its gentle promptings are more imperative 



THE REAL BRYAN 185 

than statute laws, and the invisible barriers which it 
builds around us are stronger than prison walls. [From 
an address delivered before the Holland Society, New 
York City, January, 1904-] 



There is no resisting the conscience when it is once 
aroused. To satisfy its demands many have faced 
death without a fear; in obedience to its promptings, 
and aglow with an all-pervading love, others have 
traversed oceans, buried themselves among strangers, 
and devoted their lives to the elevation of men and 
women to whom they were bound only by the primary 
tie which links each human being to every other. 

The conscience, quickened, has substituted altruism 
for selfishness as the controlling purpose of an indi- 
vidual life, and so changed that life that instead of re- 
sembling a receptive, stagnant pool it has become like 
an overflowing spring. As the conscience of an indi- 
vidual may transform him from a fiend incarnate into 
a ministering angel, so the conscience of a community, 
a state, or a nation contains dynamic force sufficient to 
destroy any threatened evil and to propagate any 
needed truth. 

There is evidence today of the awakening of both 
the individual and the civic conscience. In some places 
this has taken the form of a religious revival where 
the regeneration of the hearts of a multitude of people 
has manifested itself in changed lives, changed customs, 
and changed social conditions. The recent revival in 
Wales is an illustration of the far-reaching effect of a 



186 THE REAL BRYAN 

spiritual awakening. In the United States there have 
been recent indications of a return from material- 
ism and commercialism to a higher spiritual life, and 
there is going on a world-wide study of the teachings 
of Christ as they apply to every-day life. [From an 
article written for ''Public Opinion'' in May, 1905.] 



INDIVIDUALISM VS. SOCIALISM 

The individualist believes that competition is not 
only a helpful but a necessary force in society, to be 
guarded and protected; the socialist regards competi- 
tion as a hurtful force, to be entirely exterminated. 
It is not necessary to consider those who consciously 
take either side for reasons purely selfish; it is suffi- 
cient to know that on both sides there are those who 
with great earnestness and sincerity present their 
theories, convinced of their correctness and sure of the 
necessity for their application to human society. 

As socialism is the newer doctrine the socialist is 
often greeted with epithet and denunciation rather 
than with argument, but as usual it does not deter 
him. Martyrdom never kills a cause, as all history 
political as well as religious demonstrates. 

In comparing individualism with socialism it is only 
fair to consider individualism when made as good as 
hmnan wisdom can make it and then measure it with 
socialism at its best. It is a common fault of the 
advocate to present his system, idealized, in contrast 



THE REAL BRYAN 187 

with his opponent's system at its worst, and it must 
be confessed that neither individualist nor socialist 
has been entirely free from this fault. In dealing 
with any subject we must consider man as he is, or as 
he may reasonably be expected to become under the 
operation of the system proposed, and it is much safer 
to consider him as he is than to expect a radical change 
in his nature. Taking man as we find him, he needs, 
as individualists believe, the spur of competition. 
Even the socialists admit the advantage of rivalry 
within certain limits, but they would substitute al- 
truistic for selfish motives. Just here the individualist 
and the socialist find themselves in antagonism. The 
former believes that altruism is a spiritual quality 
which defies governmental definition while the socialist 
believes that altruism will take the place of selfish- 
ness under an enforced collectivism. 

Ruskin's statement that ''government and co-opera- 
tion are in all things eternally the laws of life ; anarchy 
and competition eternally and in all things, the laws 
of death," is often quoted by socialists, but, like gen- 
eralizations are apt to be, it is more comprehensive 
than clear. There is a marked distinction between 
voluntary co-operation, upon terms mutually satisfac- 
tory, and compulsory co-operation upon terms agree- 
able to a majority. Many of the attempts to establish 
voluntary co-operation have failed because of disagree- 
ment as to the distribution of the common property 
or income, and those which have succeeded best have 
usually rested upon a religious rather than upon an 
economic basis. 



188 THE REAL BRYAN 

In any attempt to apply the teachings of Christ to 
an economic state it must be remembered that His 
religion begins with a regeneration of the human heart 
and with an ideal of life which makes service the 
measure of greatness. Tolstoy, who repudiates social- 
ism as a substantial reform, contends that the bringing 
of the individual into harmony with God is the all- 
important thing and that this accomplished all in- 
justice will disappear. 

It is much easier to conceive of a voluntary asso- 
ciation between persons desiring to work together ac- 
cording to the Christian ideal, than to conceive of the 
successful operation of a system, enforced by law, 
wherein altruism is the controlling principle. The 
attempt to unite church and state has never been help- 
ful to either government or. religion and it is not at 
all certain that human nature can yet be trusted to 
use the instrumentalities of government to enforce 
religious ideas. The persecutions which have made 
civilization blush have been attempts to compel con- 
formity to religious beliefs sincerely held and zealously 
promulgated. 

The government, whether it leans toward individ- 
ualism or toward socialism, must be administered by 
human beings and its administration will reflect the 
weaknesses and imperfections of those who control it. 
Bancroft declares that the expression of the universal 
conscience in history is the nearest approach to the 
voice of God and he is right in paying this tribute 
to the wisdom of the masses, and yet we can not over- 
look the fact that this universal conscience must find 



THE REAL BRYAN 189 

governmental expression through frail human beings 
who yield to the temptation to serve their own inter- 
ests at the expense of their fellows. Will socialism 
purge the individual of selfishness or bring a nearer 
approach to justice? 

Justice requires that each individual shall receive 
from society a reward proportionate to his contribu- 
tion to society; can the state, acting through officials, 
make this apportionment better than it can be made 
by competition? At present, official favors are not 
distributed strictly according to merit either in repub- 
lics or in monarchies ; is it certain that socialism would 
ensure a fairer division of rewards? If the govern- 
ment operates all the factories, all the farms and all 
the stores, there must be superintendents as well as 
workmen; there must be different kinds of employ- 
ment, some more pleasant, some less pleasant; is it 
likely that any set of men can distribute the work or 
fix the compensation to the satisfaction of all, or even 
to the satisfaction of a majority of the people? When 
the government employs comparatively few of the 
people it must make the terms and conditions inviting 
enough to draw the persons needed from private em- 
ployment and if those employed in the public service 
become dissatisfied they can return to outside occupa- 
tions ; but what will be the result if there is no private 
employment? What outlet will there be for discontent 
if the government owns and operates all the means of 
production and distribution? 

Under individualism a man's reward is determined 
in the open market and where competition is free he 



190 THE EEAL BRYAN 

can hope to sell his services for what they are worth. 
Will his chance for reward be as good when he must 
do the work prescribed for him on the terms fixed by 
those who are in control of the government? 

At present, private monopoly is putting upon indi- 
vidualism an undeserved odium and it behooves the 
individualist to address himself energetically to this 
problem in order that the advantages of competition 
may be restored to industry. And the duty of im- 
mediate action is made more imperative by the fact 
that the socialist is inclined to support the monopoly, 
in the belief that it will be easier to induce the govern- 
ment to take over an industry after it has passed into 
the hands of a few men. The trust magnates and the 
socialists unite in declaring monopoly to be an 
economic development, the former hoping to retain 
the fruits of monopoly in private hands, the latter 
expecting the ultimate appropriation of the benefits 
of monopoly by the government. The individualist, 
on the contrary, contends that the consolidation of 
industries ceases to be an economic advantage w^hen 
competition is eliminated, and he believes, further, 
that no economic advantage which could come from 
the monopolization of all the industries in the hands 
of the government could compensate for the stifling 
of individual initiative and independence. And the 
individualists who thus believe stand for a morality 
and for a system of ethics which they are willing to 
measure against the ethics and morality of socialism. 
[From article published in April, 1906, number of 
Century Magazine.'] 



THE REAL BRYAN 191 



SOCIALISM 



Landlordism, the curse of Europe, is an innocent 
institution in comparison with the trust carried to its 
logical conclusion. The man who argues that there 
is an economic advantage in private monopoly is aid- 
ing socialism. The socialist, asserting the economic 
superiority of the monopoly, insists that its benefits 
shall accrue to the whole people, and his conclusion 
can not be denied if his assumption is admitted. The 
democratic party, if I understand its position, denies 
the economic as well as the political advantage of 
private monopoly and promises to oppose it wherever 
it manifests itself. It offers as an alternative compe- 
tition where competition is possible and public monop- 
oly wherever circumstances are such as to prevent 
competition. 

Socialism presents a consistent theory, but a theory 
which, in my judgment, does not take human nature 
into account. Its strength is in its attack upon evils 
the existence of which is confessed; its weakness is 
that it would substitute a new disease — if not a worse 
one — for the disease from which we suffer. The social- 
ist is honest in the belief that he has found a remedy 
for human ills, and he must be answered with argu- 
ment, not with abuse. The best way to oppose social- 
ism is to remedy the abuses which have grown up 
under individualism but which are not a necessary 
part of individualism, and the sooner the remedy is 
applied the better. 

As I was leaving home I set forth my reasons for 



192 THE EEAL BRYAN 

opposing the socialistic doctrine that the government 
should own and operate all the means of production 
and transportation; my observations during the past 
year have strengthened my conviction on that sub- 
ject. Because I am anxious to preserve individual- 
ism, I am earnest in my desire to see the trusts ex- 
terminated, root and branch, that the door of oppor- 
tunity may be open to every American citizen. [From 
Madison Square Garden, New York, speech, August 
30, 1906.] 



THE PARAMOUNT ISSUE 

There is an issue more fundamental than either the 
trust issue, or the tariff issue, or the railroad issue and 
it is involved in all of these issues, and this larger and 
more fundamental issue is this : Shall the government 
be administered by the people in the interest of the 
whole people, or shall it be administered for the bene- 
fit of a few and by those whom the few, through coer- 
cion and the corruption of politics, elevate to power. 
Shall'thFp'eople rule^ is an issue which all people can 
understand. Shall this be a people's government or 
a government of syndicates, by syndicates and for syn- 
dicates? This is a question that demands attention. 
The trusts have made the government a government of 
a few, and for a few, just as the beneficiaries of the 
tariff have subordinated the welfare of eighty millions 
of people to the pecuniary interests of a comparative 
few who are engaged in protected industries. 



THE REAL BRYAN 193 

The railroad magnates have, in like manner, been 
permitted to prey upon the stockholders as well as the 
patrons of the road. On every subject that has come 
before congress, the repu bli can 1 eadeTr h ave taken the 
side of the classes ag-ainst the masses until at last the 
public is aroused and the people ready to act. 

The paramount issue, therefore, is the protection of 
all of the people who desire equal rights from the few 
who den:iand special privileges, and this issue is pre- 
sented in every question which is before the public or 
is likely to come before the public. The few are in- 
terested in ceiitralization ; the many demand the pres- 
ervation of the rights ;of the citizens. The few are. in- 
terested in providing monopolies ; the many demand the 
restoration of competition for the protection of the pub- 
lic. The few profit by a high tariff; the many demand 
that taxation shall be for purposes of revenue and not 
for the enrichment of a secondary class. The few_gxDHL. 
ricET^By'tHe issue of watered stock 'and fictitious capi- 
talization and by the juggling of the values of railroads; 
the many deniand that the railroads shall be conducted 
as quasi-public enterprises with due regard to the inter- 
ests of the stockholder and the patron. The few would 
make the wage earner the bond-servants of corporate 
masses; the many insist upon reasonable hours and 
reasonable compensation for those who toil and for trial 
by jury as well as impartial investigation of dispute 
between labor and capital. The few hope to coin money 
out of a colonial policy; the many — from principle, 
as well as because they pay the taxes and furnish the 
sonis for the army — demand the recognition of the 



194 THE REAL BRYAN 

American doctrine of self-government wherever the 
American flag floats. The few may accumulate enor- 
mous fortunes by the equipping of large armies and 
the building of large navies and the opening of a life 
service to a comparatively small part ; the many prefer 
peace and honest friendship with all nations and the 
justice in government that will make force unnecessary. 

It is favoritism for a part of the people or justice to 
the whole population, and no matter where you turn 
this issue presents itself. It is paramount because it is 
uppermost in the minds of the people and paramount 
also because it is embodied in all of the questions under 
consideration. 

43n .this issue the democratic party must stand with 
the people and fight for the people. If between now 
and election time it can convince the public that it is 
worthy to be trusted by the people it will become the 
instrument of the people to secure the reforms, the 
need of which is now confessed, but the accomplishment 
of which 'cannot be expected from republican leader- 
ship. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 



THE LAW OF REWARDS 

I know of no more imperative need today than that 
there should be a clear recognition of the law of re- 
wards, namely, that each person is entitled to draw from 
society in proportion as he contributes to the welfare of 
sooieity. This law is fundamental. It conforms to that 



THE REAL BRYAN 195 

sense of justice which forms the broad basis of social 
intercourse and a firm foundation for government. 
This sense of justice is offended when any one, either 
through the favoritism of government or in defiance 
of government, acquires that for which he has not given 
an equivalent. There are certain apparent exceptions, 
b\*t they will upon examination be found to be only 
apparent or to present evidence of an attempted ap- 
proximation to the standard. For instance, by general 
consent there is acquirement by right of discovery. A 
man finds something of which man has not before 
known, and although the discovery may not have 
caused him great effort yet it may be of great value. 
There ls justice in giving him a reasonable compensa- 
tion out of the thing which he has discovered, but the 
fact that the government, under whose jurisdiction the 
land lies, limits by metes and bounds the land w^hich 
the pioneer may elaim, is evidence of an effort to fix a 
relation between service and compensation. And so 
if one discovers precious metals the law determines the 
amount of land that can be claimed under the discov- 
ery. The inventor, also, in return for the benefits con- 
ferred upon society, is given a temporary monopoly of 
the sale of the thing invented, but the fact that he is 
protected for a limited time only is another proof of 
the general desire that the reward collected from society 
shall be proportioned to the benefit conferred upon so- 
ciety. It is hardly necessary to add that in the case 
of an invention the attempt is often a crude one, the 
inventor in many cases losing in large part or entirely 
the protection intended for him, while some one pre- 



196 THE REAL BKYAN 

pared to furnish money for experimentation receives 
Ihe lion's share of the benefits. 

The inheritance would seem to furnish the most nota- 
ble exception to the rule of rewards and yet it cannot 
really be considered an exception, for a man's right to 
provide for those dependent upon him is as sacred as 
his right to provide for himself, and the mutual obliga- 
tions between parent and child take inheritances out of 
the ordinary rules of property, and yet even in this case 
the graded taxes now imposed upon inheritances in 
various states — and they should be imposed in all 
states — indicate a tendency to limit the testamentary 
disposition of property. Gifts are either, fii*st, an ex- 
pression of affection or friendship, or, second, payment 
for service rendered or payment in advance for service 
to be rendered to the donor or to others. 

But turning from the exceptions to the rule, what 
tjould be more salutary today than a universal recog- 
nition of this law of rewards? If instead of measuring 
success by the amount received, each one measured 
success by the amount actually earned, what a trans- 
formation would be wrought in the world! If each 
one were so perfectly under self-control and so attached 
to a high ideal as not to desire more from the w^orld 
than a just reward for his contribution to the world's 
welfare, society would present a changed appearance. 
Nearly all injustice, nearly all of ''man^s inhumanity 
lo man," can be traced to an attempt on the part of the 
wrong-doer to obtain something for nothing or some- 
thing for which only part payment is offered. A con- 
scientious application of this law of rewards would not 



THE REAL BRYAN 197 

only go far toward adju.-ting disputes botwoon labor 
and capital, but it would go far toward removing the 
barriers between the cla.v-es. The employe to make a 
just complaint again.st his employer show^s that the 
latter is claiming a larger share of the joint profit than 
i& his due, and the employer to bring a just indictment 
against his employe alleges that the employe is seeking 
a larger compensation than he has earned. There 
w^ould be little difficulty in adjusting hours of labor 
and the conditions of labor if the primary question 
of participation in profits could be adjusted, and that 
adjustment cannot be equitably made upon any other 
basis than that of equivalent values. With universal 
acquiescence in this rule the usurer would disappear, 
carrying his train of eviLs with him; with the estab- 
lishment of this rule the stock jobber and the market 
gambler would cease to disturb the law of supply and 
demand, and the reign of watered stock and of exploi- 
tation would be at an end. The observance of this rulo 
would make factory laws unnecessary and relieve from 
premature toil hundreds of thousands of children w^ho 
now, to the shame of our civilization and to the perma- 
nent harm of our country, become sullen supporters of 
the family when they should enjoy the deliglits of child- 
hood and the advantages of school. Those who, instead 
of trying to see how much they can squeeze out of the 
world are anxious to give to the world a dollar's worth 
of service for a dollar's worth of pay, are protected 
against every form of swindling, for the ''get-rich- 
quick" schemes which spring up and impose upon the 
public until they are exposed and driven out, always 



198 THE REAL BRYAN 

appeal to the speculative spirit, and lead their victims 
to expect something for nothing. 

It must not be understood, however, that the law of 
rewards comprehends all of one's obligations. There 
is a clear distinction between justice and benevolence. 
Justice requires that each person shall be secure in the 
enjoyment of that which he earns, but there is some- 
thing better than justice. True, the elimination of 
injustice is greatly to be desired, but if the world con- 
tained nothing more comforting there might still be 
a vast amount of suffering and woe. After the govern- 
ment has exhausted human wisdom in the effort to oo 
adjust rewards as to secure to each person a fair and 
just compensation for all that he does, religion steps 
in and suggests a still higher and broader rule. Justice 
would leave the individual to suffer for his own errors 
and to pay the penalty for his own mistakes, but love 
as taught in the Bible and exemplified by the Author 
of our religion, teaches us to "feel another's woe'' and 
to bear one another's burdens. If sickness overtakes a 
neighbor it does not satisfy the conscience to say: ''He 
brought it upon himself, let him suffer.'* If a wife is 
impoverished by the dissipations of a husband it does 
not satisfy the conscience to say: "She ought to have 
known better than to marry him," or "She ought to 
leave him." If a child is left friendless it does not 
satisfy the conscience to say: "It is not my child; I 
owe it nothing." In a multitude of ways we are daily 
brought face to face with the fact that this world needs 
something more helpful, more encouraging, more up- 
lifting than justice, and love supplies this need. A high 



THE REAL BRYAN 199^ 

ideal of life, therefore, leads us to be more exacting 
with ourselves than we are with others. We must use 
a larger measure when we estimate society's claims upon 
us than when we calculate our claims upon society, 
for while we have a right to expect from society a fair 
compensation for what we do, we are in duty bound to 
make to society a contribution which no legal definition 
can measure. [Address entitled ''Man," delivered at 
Commencement Bay exercises, Nebraska State Uni- 
versity, June 15, 1905.] 



BEFORE THE IRISH CLUB 

I have some Irish blood in my veins. (Applause.) 
Just how much I do not know. I hope it will not be 
necessary to investigate, for I think I claim more 
than I could prove. (Laughter.) I have the testi- 
mony of my father that we were of Irish extraction, 
although we don't know when our ancestors landed in 
America, or ' from what part of Ireland they came. 
I know that I am part Irish; my name helps me out 
in that. I am part English. My father's mother's 
namic helps me out in that. I am part Scotch. My 
mother's mother's name helps me out in that„ 
(Laughter.) But I am all American. (Applause.) 
I think my wife not only has some of the blood of 
each of these countries, but as she goes beyond me in 
nearly every other respect, so in this, she traces her 
ancestry to one more race than I do, and mixes a little 



200 THE REAL BRYAN 

German with Irish, English, and Scotch. (Applause.) 
So that you can understand we have a double reason 
for appreciating the cordiality of your welcome. (Ap- 
plause.) Mention has been made of the fact that 
some of your countrymen have gone to America. That 
is true (laughter) — a great many. In fact so many, 
that when I was in Ireland the other day I could not 
help noticing the number of American names you 
have on your buildings. (Laughter and applause.) I 
saw nearly everywhere names with w^hich I am fa- 
miliar, on the buildings in Cork, Dublin and Belfast. 
I may say to you that the Irish who have gone to 
America have been a great help to our country. I 
can say without flattery that no people have come 
amongst us who have shown themselves more capable 
of efficient participation in every department of Amer- 
ican life. (Applause.) You may go into any section 
of the country, you may go among the people of any 
occupation, of any profession, of any calling, and you 
will find the Irish there. (Applause.) There is no 
department of work in America in which they have 
not played a conspicuous part. They have been prom- 
inent in the ministry, they have been prominent in 
statesmanship, they have been prominent at the bar, 
and in every industrial occupation they have borne 
their part. It is not strange, therefore, that there 
should be a sympathy between the people of Ireland 
and the people of the United States. (Applause.) 
It is not strange, therefore, that everything that affects 
your welfare interests them, that every aspiration you 
have for the development and elevation and progress 



THE REAL BRYAN 201 

of your people finds a warm response in the hearts of 
the American people (applause), and that is true, as 
has been so eloquently said, without regard to party, 
and without regard to creed. (Applause.) Just as 
ia Ireland, O'Connell, the Catholic, and Parnell, the 
Protestant, found common ground in advocating the 
rights and interests of Irishmen, so in my country 
Protestants and Catholics look with friendly eyes upon 
the Emerald Isle, and wish you great prosperity and 
the advancement of your people. (Applause.) It is 
true, also, in politics, for while I think I can say that 
the majority of the Irish in America belong to the 
party to w^hich I belong, I must be frank enough to 
tell you that sympathy w^ith the Irish cause is not 
monopolized by the democratic party. The repub- 
lican, as well as the democrats, look with interest and 
deep concern upon all that appertains to your welfare, 
and your development, and your ambitions. (Loud 
applause.) I think I owe that to the people of my 
country, to my political opponents, to say that we, 
democrats, can not claim any greater love for you, or 
greater interest in you, than the republicans can, for 
I believe this feeling is well nigh universal. (Ap- 
plause.) 

If I was speaking merely from the political stand- 
point I might express regret that your people, when 
they went to America, divided themselves among the 
various' parties, yet when I find good people in the 
party opposed to me, instead of discouraging me, it 
encourages because it gives us much to fight for in 
getting them out of the other party into our own. 



202 THE REAL BRYAN 

(Laughter.) For jf we had all the good people in our 
party, and all the bad people in the other party, it 
might be bad for our country. 

Mr. O'Connor has mentioned our country and its 
position in the world. I am glad that the people of 
Ireland feel as they do towards America, and I may 
say to you that in an absence of now a little more than 
ten months, it has done my heart good to find a friend- 
ly feeling towards the United States in all the coun- 
tries I have been in. Nowhere did I find people ex- 
pressing anything but interest in the United States, 
and I want to say this to you — that it has strength- 
ened me in the conviction that the ambition of my 
nation should be not to make people fear it, but to 
make people love it. (Applause.) If there be any 
who take pride in the fact that people outside of their 
land bow in fear before their flag, I take pride in the 
fact that we have a flag which make? them turn their 
eyes towards Heaven and thank God there is such a 
flag. (Applause.) [From address before the Irish 
Club in London.] 



^taU an^ Ration 



THE DUAL SCHEME 



The democratic party is pledged to defend the Con- 
stitution and enforce the laws of the United States, 
and it is also pledged to respect and preserve the dual 
scheme of government instituted by the founders of 
the Republic. The name, United States, was happily 
chosen. It combines the idea of national strength 
with the idea of local self-government, and suggests 
^'an indissoluble union of indestructible states." Our 
Revolutionary fathers, fearing the tendencies toward 
centralization, as well as the dangers of disintegration, 
guarded against both; and national safety, as well as 
domestic security, is to be found in the careful ob- 
servance of the limitations which they imposed. It 
will be noticed that, while the United States guar- 
antees to every state a republican form of government 
and is empowered to protect each state against in- 
vasion, it is not authorized to interfere in the domestic 
affairs of any state except upon application of the leg- 
islature of the state, or upon the application of the 
Executive when the legislature cannot be convened. 

This provision rests upon the sound theory that the 
people of the state, acting through their legally chosen 
representatives, are, because of their more intimate 

203 



204 THE REAL BRYAN 

acquaintance with local conditions, better qualified 
than the president to judge of the necessity for federal 
assistance. Those who framed our constitution wisely 
determined to make as broad an application of the 
principles of local self-government as circumstances 
would permit, and we cannot dispute the correctness 
of the position taken by them without expressing a 
distrust of the people themselves. \_Letter of accept- 
ance in 1896.] 



ADVANTAGES OF THE DUAL SYSTEM 

The monopolists who are bleeding the country are 
the very ones who are constantly defying the states 
and belittling their rights. Of course they object to 
national legislation, and in making their objection 
they naturally present arguments in favor of the state, 
but these arguments ought not to fool anybody. When- 
ever the state attempts to do anything these same 
monopolists rush to the cover offered by the federal 
courts. The railroads have done more to build up 
the power of the federal courts than any other one in- 
fluence, and there is scarcely a state legislature which 
the railroads have not defied. If the trust magnates 
and the railroad presidents had their way about it, 
stat« lines would be entirely obliterated, and corpora- 
tions would be chartered by the federal government. 
That they do not have their way about it is due to 
the fact that the people recognize the necessity for 
local self-government. It is true that the states have 
been brought nearer together and their relations made 



THE REAL BRYAN 205 

more intimate since the adoption of the federal Con- 
stitution but the need for the state is stronger today 
than it was a century ago. The wide extent of our 
country, the increase in our population, the greater 
complexity of our business relations and industries — 
all these increase the importance of the state. The fed- 
eral government could not look after the multiplied 
interests of the people. The founders of the Consti- 
tution built more wisely than they knew when they 
reserved to the states the powers not delegated to the 
federal government. Congress has all the power that 
it needs. In the realm of interstate commerce it is 
supreme. The state can charter corporations, and so 
long as those corporations confine their business to the 
state, the federal government can not interfere, but 
the moment those corporations step across the state 
line, they come under the supervision of the federal 
government and Congress has power to fix the terms 
upon which they shall do business. This is a very 
much better arrangement than to have national cor- 
porations superior to and independent of the states. 
We have trouble enough with overgrown state cor- 
porations. We would have still more trouble if we 
permitted the creation of overgrown national corpora- 
tions. 

The state and the nation — both are necessary — and 
the doctrine of Jefferson and Jackson is the doctrine 
that must prevail today. We need no new principles; 
we need only the courageous application of old-time 
principles to the new conditions. We need remedies, 
state and national, but it is not necessary that the na- 



206 THE REAL BRYAN 

tion should encroach upon the rights of the state or 
the state upon the rights of the nation in order to 
secure such remedial legislation as is demanded. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.] 

INFLUENCE OF THE STATE 

^ The states are even more needed than they formerly 
were for the administration of domestic affairs. As a 
matter of theory, that government is best which is near- 
est to the people. If there is any soundness at all in the 
doctrine of self-government, the people can act most 
intelligently upon matters with which they are most 
familiar. There are a multitude of things which can 
be done better by the county than by state authority, 
and there are a multitude of things which can be done 
better by the state than by the federal government. An 
attempt to transfer to the national capital the business 
now conducted at the state capitals would be open to two 
objections, either of which would be fatal. First, Con- 
gress could not transact the business. The work now 
devolving on the national legislature makes it difficult 
to secure consideration for any except the most impor- 
tant measures. The number of bills actually discussed 
in a deliberate way is small; most of the bills that 
pass are rushed through by unanimous consent, and a 
still larger number die on the calendar or in committee. 
Second, the members of Congress could not inform 
themselves about local needs. The interests and indus- 
tries of the nation are so diversified and the various 
sections so different in their needs that the members of 



THE REAL BRYAN 207 

Congress from one part of the country would be en- 
tirely ignorant of the conditions in other parts of the 
country. Whenever Congress attempts legislation now 
for a particular section, the matter is usually left to 
the members from that section, but more often the 
matter is crowded out entirely by larger interests. 

The farther the legislative body is from the commu- 
nity affected by the law, the easier it is for special inter- 
ests to control. This has been illustrated in state leg- 
islatures when long-time charters have been granted 
to franchise corporations by the votes of members whose 
constituents, not being interested, do not hold ^hem to 
strict account, and it would be worse if Congress acted 
on the same subjects. [From an editorial in The Com- 
moner.] 



One of Jefferson's reasons for supporting state gov- 
ernments in all their rights was that they were the 
surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies. 
Those anti-republican tendencies exist today, and the 
bulwark cannot be dispensed with. While popular 
government is growing stronger all over the world, 
there are still those in this country who distrust the 
people. There are many prominent men who regard 
Hamilton as the greatest of the political thinkers of his 
day, although his statesmanship cannot be considered 
independently of the views embodied in his plan of 
government. There are those who are constantly irri- 
tated by the limitations which the Constitution has 



208 THE EEAL BRYAN 

placed upon the sphere of the federal government, and 
who resent the independence of the state in its local 
affairs. This very irritation ought to be a warning; 
if there are those who are irritated because they can- 
not override the wishes of the community, what would 
be the irritation in the community if the wishes of its 
members were overridden? A systematic absorjDtion of 
power by the federal government would not only cause 
discontent and w^eaken the attachment of the people 
for the government, but a withdrawal of power from 
the state would breed indifference to public affairs — the 
forerunner of despotism. 

The exercise by the federal government of restrain- 
ing power is not so objectionable as the exercise of crea- 
tive power, but even in the exercise of restraining power 
care should be taken to preserve to the states the exer- 
cise of concurrent authority, so that the state govern- 
ment, as well as the national government, can stand 
guard over the rights of the citizen. 

The demand for the enlargement of the powers of 
the federal government comes from two sources, viz., 
from those who believe with Hamilton in the theory 
of centralization, and from those w^ho want legislation 
which the state's rights doctrine obstructs. Of these 
two classes the last is most influential, because the mem- 
ber of this class impart to their method the strength 
supplied by the object aimed at. An abstract theory 
seldom provokes discussion, but wars have been fought 
over a theory embodied in a concrete issue. [From an 
editorial in The Commoner.'] 



THE REAL BRYAN 209 



SPHERE OF THE STATE 



The recent decision of the supreme court sustaining 
the federal judges in North Carolina and Minnesota, 
focuses public attention upon a subject, consideration 
of which cannot be much longer delayed: Shall the 
lower federal courts have jurisdiction to suspend the 
laws of the various states before the state courts have 
had an opportunity to pass upon those laws? The 
newspapers which take their inspiration from the large 
corporations are congi^atulating the country that proper- 
ty is made more secure by the decision, and that 
vested interests are rescued from) peril. How long will 
these papers be able to deceive the public and to mislead 
their readers? Property is in no danger and vested 
interests are not imperiled. The laws of the states can 
be depended upon to protect property rights and vested 
interests. The question is simply a question of dealing 
with corporations./ Shall the corporation be regarded 
as superior to fthe natural man? That is the only 
question involved. If a natural man locates in a state 
and engages in business he must rely upon the state 
courts for his protection. The stato protects him in 
his life, in his liberty and in his property and he re- 
sorts to the courts of the state when he seelcs to enforce 
a right. Under the present laws and decisions it is 
different with the corporation. A railroad corporation 
can be organized in the state of New Jersey and proceed 
to engage in business in any of the forty-six states of 
the union; it gets from the state a license to build a 
railroad ; it uses the power of eminent domain and con- 



210 THE REAL BRYAN 

demns land; the staite laws protect its property and 
the lives of its employes, but when a citizen sues the 
railroad for more than two thousand dollars, or the 
state attempts to regulate the railroad, the railroad con- 
temptuously turns its hack upon the state and the 
courts of the state and drags its adversary into the 
United States court. Why should a state be so impo- 
tent when it deals with a corporation which owes so 
much to the state? 

If the state passes a rate law the railroad at once 
enjoins the enforcement of the law on the ground that 
it is unconstitutional. While the courts are deciding 
this question the state stands helpless. The law has 
not been declared unconstitutional by any court, and 
yet, the state is not permitted to enforce it. If, after 
months or years of litigation, the United States court 
decides that the law is not unconstitutional, then 
during all of the intervening time the state has been 
prevented from enforcing a constitutional law. Why 
not give to the state courts rather than to the railroads 
the benefit of the presumption? W^hy clothe a corpo- 
ration with privileges so much superior to those of 
the natural man? The democrats of Congress are right 
in urging the passage of a law withdrawing from the 
circuit and district courts of the United States power 
to suspend state laws. Let every corporation doing 
business in the state submit its controversies to the 
courts of the state, and thus put itself upon the same 
footing wdth domestic corporations and wdth individual 
residents. If the state courts deny the corporation jus- 
tice, the corporation still has its appeal from the high- 



THE REAL BRYAN 211 

est state court to the United States supreme court. Is 
not this protection enough? 

The big corporations and their defenders, conscious 
of the weakness of their cause, constantly confuse the 
issue. The question is, not whether property shall be 
protected, for the state has as much interest as the 
nation in the protection of property; the question is, 
shall the corporation be brought down to the level of 
the God-made man, or shall it be made an object of 
worship? The democrats are right in insisti-ng that 
the state shall not be deprived of its power to protect 
its citizens, and that federal remedies shall be added 
to state remedies, not substituted for them. There is 
no disposition anywhere to deny to the federal gov- 
ernment its constitutional authority, but the jurisdic- 
tion of the district and circuit courts of the United 
States is regulated by Congress, and Congress ought to 
withdraw the jurisdiction which the lower federal courts 
are now using to the prejudice of the states and citi- 
zens of the states. [From an editorial in The Conv- 
moner>'\ 



iE^apxtal antf gabov 



EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYE 



I have referred to the investigation of international 
controversies under a system which does not bind the 
parties to accept the findings of the court of inquiry. 
This plan can be used in disputes between labor and 
capital ; in fact, it was proposed as a means of settling 
such disputes before it was applied to international 
controversies. It is as important that we shall have 
peace at home as that we shall live peaceably with 
neighboring nations, and peace is possible only when 
it rests upon justice. In advocating arbitration of dif- 
ferences between large corporate employers and their 
employes, I believe we are defending tho highest inter- 
ests of the three parties to these disputes, viz. : the em- 
ployers, the employes and the public. The employe 
cannot be turned over to the employer to be dealt with 
as the employer may please. 

The question sometimes asked, ''Can I not conduct 
my business to suit myself?" is a plausible one, but 
when a man in conducting his business attempts to 
arbitrarily fix the conditions under which hundreds 
of employes are to live and to determine the future of 
thousands of human beings, I answer without hesita- 
tion that he has no right to conduct his own busi- 

212 



THE REAL BRYAN 213 

ness in such a way as to deprive his employes of the 
right to hfe, liberfy and the pursuit of happiness. To 
support this position, i need only refer to the laws regu- 
lating the safety of mines, the factory laws fixing the 
age at which children can be employed, and usury laws 
establishing the rate of interest. The effort of the em- 
ployer to settle differences without arbitration has done 
much to embitter him against those who work for him 
and to estrange them from him — a condition deplorable 
from every standpoint. 

But if it is unwise to make the employer the sole 
custodian of the rights and interests of the employes, 
it is equally unwise to give the employes uncontrolled 
authority over the rights and interests of the employ- 
er. The employes are no more t® be trusted to act 
unselfishly and disinterestedly than the employers. In 
their zeal to secure a present advantage they may not 
only do injustice but even forfeit a larger future gain. 

The strike, the only w^eapon of the employe at pres- 
ent, is a two-edged sw^ord and may injure the workmen 
as much as the employer, and even when wholly suc- 
cessful, is apt to leave a rankling in the bosom of the 
wage-earner that ought not to be. Society has, more- 
over, something at stake as well as the employer and 
employe, for there can be no considerable strike with- 
out considerable loss to the public. Society, there- 
fore, (is justified in demanding that the differences 
between capital and labor shall be settled by peaceful 
means. If a permanent, impartial board is created, 
to which either party of an industrial dispute may 
appeal or which can of its motion institute an inquiry. 



214 THE REAL BRYAN 

public opinion may be relied upon to enforce the find- 
ing. If there is compulsory submission to investigation, 
it is not necessary that there shall be compulsory ac- 
ceptance of the decision, for a full and fair investiga- 
tion will, in almost every case, bring about a settle- 
ment. 

No reference to the labor question is complete that 
does not include some mention of what is known as 
government by injunction. As the main purpose of 
the writ is to evade trial by jury, it is really an attack 
upon the jury system and ought to arouse a unani- 
mous protest. However, as the writ is usually invoked 
in case of a strike the importance of the subject would 
be very much reduced by the adoption of a system of 
arbitration, because arbitration would very much re- 
duce, even if it did not entirely remove, the probability 
of a strike. 

Just another word in regard to the laboring man. 
The struggle to secure an eight-hour day is an inter- 
national struggle and it is sure to be settled in favor 
of the workingmen's contention. The benefits of the 
labor-saving machine have not been distributed with 
equity. The producer has enormously multiplied his 
capacity, but so far the owner of the machine ha^ 
received too much of the increase and the laborer too 
little. Those who oppose the eight-hour day do it, I 
am convinced, more because of ignorance of conditions 
than because of lack of sympathy with those who toil. 
The removal of work from the house to the factory ha^ 
separated the husband from his wife and the father 
from his children, while the growth of our cities has 



THE REAL BRYAN 215 

put an increasing distance between the home and the 
-/orkshop. Then, too, more is demanded of the labor- 
ing man now than formerly. He is a citizen as well 
as a laborer, and must have time for the study of pub- 
lic questions if he is to be an intelligent sovereign. 
To drive him from his bed to his task and from his 
task to his bed is to deprive the family of his com- 
panionship, society of his service and politics of his 
influence. [From Madison Square Garden speech, 
New York, August 30, 1906.] 

ARBITRATION 

I desire to give special emphasis to the plank which 
recommends such legislation as is necessary to secure 
the arbitration of differences between employers en- 
gaged in interstate commerce and their employes. Ar- 
bitration is not a new idea — it is simply an extension 
of the court of justice. The laboring men of the coun- 
try have expressed a desire for arbitration, and the 
railroads cannot reasonably object to the decisions ren- 
dered by an impartial tribunal. Society has an inter- 
est even greater than the interest of employer or em- 
ploye, and has a right to protect itself by courts of 
arbitration against the growing inconvenience and 
embarrassment occasioned by disputes between those 
who own the great arteries of commerce on the one 
hand, and the laborers w^ho operate them on the other. 
[Letter of acceptance in 1896.] 



No one who has observed the frictaon w^hich arises 
between great corporations and their numerous em- 



216 THE REAL BRYAN 

ployes can doubt the wisdom of establishing an im- 
partial court for the just and equitable settlement of 
disputes. The demand for arbitration ought to be sup- 
ported as heartily by the public, which suffers inconven- 
ience because of strikes and lockouts, and by the em- 
ployers themselves as by the employes. The establish- 
ment of arbitration will insure friendly relations 
between labor and capital, and render obsolete the grow- 
ing practice of calling in the army to settle labor 
troubles. [Letter of acceptance, 1900.] 

LABOR AND 

Every attempt to legislate in the interests of the 
laboring men is met with the declaration that it is an 
interference with the rights of property. How would 
property be created but for labor? And who wall say 
that the man who furnishes the capital should be 
permitted to decide without appeal the conditions upon 
which property shall be created by those who labor 
for him? We often hear it asked by the manu- 
facturer: ''Have I not the right to manage my own 
business?'' That is not the question. If the manu- 
facturer will set himself to work to produce something 
with his own hands, nobody will question his right to 
control his own business. But something more is im- 
plied by his question. If he would put the question 
fairly he would ask, not "Have I not the right to man- 
age my own business?" but rather, "Have I not the 
right, in managing my business, to regulate the lives, 
the liberty, the hopes, the happiness of those w^hom I 



THE REAL BRYAN 217 

employ?" But to ask the question in this form would 
be to suggest a negative answer, while he demands an 
affirmative answer. 

Those who claim the right to arbitrarily determine 
the hours, the wages and the conditions of labor de- 
mand the right to arbitrarily detennine the status of 
the laboring man and to fix the conditions that are 
to surround him and his posterity. Is it an inter- 
ference with property rights to demand that the labor- 
ing man shall have a fair share of the proceeds of 
his own toil — a fair share of the property which he 
creates? His right to accumulate property should not 
be ignored. Not only should he be allowed to accumu- 
late property, but he should have leisure to enable him 
to enjoy communion with his own family and to fit 
himself for intelligent participation in the affairs of 
his government. By what authority will the capitalist 
put his claim to larger dividends above the rights of the 
wage-earners and the welfare of the wage-earner's chil- 
dren? [FroTYi an article published in the Saturday 
Evening Post in 1905.] 

REPRESENTATION IN THE CABINET 

I cannot too strongly emphasize the importance of 
the platform recommendation of the establishment of 
a department of labor, with a member of the Cabinet 
at its head. When we remember how important a 
position the laborer fills in our economic, social and 
political fabric, it is hard to conceive of a valid objec- 
tion being made to this recognition of his services. 



218 THE EEAL BKYA]N 

.Vorieulture is already represented in the President's 
official household; the army and navy have their rep- 
resentatives there; the state department, with its con- 
sular service, and the treasury department, with its 
close connection with fiscal affairs, keep the Executive 
in touch with the business and commercial interests. 
A Cabinet otKcer truly representative of the wage-earn- 
ing class would be of invaluable aid, not only to the 
toilers but to the President. [Letter of acceptance, 
1900.] 

THEIR SHARE IX rROSPERITY 

Of course, the laboring man has shared in the gen- 
eral prosperity brought by better erops, a larger vol- 
ume of money and higher prices, but he has not 
shared as fully as he ought to have shared, and for 
that reason he is not singing praises to the republican 
party. He knows that the trusts are extorting from 
him more than he ought to pay for that which he* 
has to buy and that these same trusts are bent upon 
the destruction of the labor organizations which have 
benefited the laboring man infinitely more than the 
republican party has ever tried to benefit him. The 
laboring men know also that they toiled in vain to 
secure remedial legislation at the hands of the last 
republican congress, and these labor leaders were so 
incensed at their failure that they went into politics 
more actively than ever before, in the hope of defeat- 
ing republican leaders who prevented legislation fav- 
orable to the laboring men. 

The republican party has been in power continu- 



THE REAL BRYAN 219 

ously since 189G. It has controlled the presidency, 
the senate, the house and the United States court. 
It has had power to do all that it wanted to do; if it 
has failed to do that which should have been done, 
it must be because the party leaders lacked knowledge 
as to what should have been done or lacked the desire 
to do what should have been done. The testimony 
of the labor leaders is unanimous that the republican 
party has not met the expectations of the wage-earners. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner.] 

EDUCATION AND THE LABORING MAN 

Education has increased the efficiency of the laborer, 
and, therefore, his earning pow^r; it has enlarged his 
capabilities, and, therefore, his independence^ The 
man whose mental discipline is such that he can 
easily adjust himself to any occupation which offers 
an opening has a great advantage over one who has 
nothing but muscle to offer. Those who have dealt 
with the Oriental laborer comment upon his lack of 
initiative. He does what he is told to do and does it 
as he is directed; but if anything happens in the ab- 
sence of the overseer the laborer is lost for he does 
not know^ how to meet an emergency or to devise a new 
method on the spur of the moment. 

Education also enables a man to present with intel- 
ligence his claims for proper treatment. In any group 
of men who have a grievance to state, the men who 
can state the grievance clearly and forcibly naturally 
become the leaders, and so an improvement in the 



220 THE REAL BRYAN 

average condition of the man follows closely upon his 
intellectual improvement. 

Education furnishes the companionship of books 
and tends to raise the standard of social intercourse. 
No matter how favorable the influences of government 
or the social environment may be, much depends upon 
the habits of the individual ; and education, by supply- 
ing a higher form of enjoyment, lessens the conviv- 
iality that wastes time and money as well as impairs 
the strength. Intelligence and morals are not insep- 
arable companions, but one is apt to promote the other. 
It would be a reflection on the dispensations of 
Providence to doubt that the proper development of 
the body, the mind or the heart would, for any nat- 
ural reason, retard the development of the others. The 
thing to be desired is the harmonious development of 
the threefold man, and the performance of our duty 
in respect to the care of one part of our being throws 
light upon our duty in respect to the care of the 
other parts. [From an editorial in The Commoner.] 

GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION 

While what is generally known as government by 
injunction is at present directed chiefly against the 
employes of corporations, when there is a disagree- 
ment between them and their employer, it involves a 
principle which concerns everyone. The purpose of 
the injunction in such cases is to substitute trial by 
judge for trial by jury, and is a covert blow at the jury 
system. The abolition of government by injunction 



THE REAL BRYAN 221 

is as necessary for the protection of the reputation of 
the court, as it is for the security of the citizen. Black- 
stone, in defending trial by jury, says: 

'The impartial administration of justice, which se- 
cures both our persons and our properties, is the great 
end of civil society, but if that be entrusted entirely 
to the magistracy, a select body of men, and those 
generally selected by the prince or such as enjoy the 
highest offices in the State, their decisions, in spite of 
their natural integrity, will have frequently an invol- 
untary bias toward those of their own rank and dignity. 
It is not to be expected from human nature that the 
few should be always attentive to the interests and 
good of the many." 

If the criminal laws are not sufficient for the pro- 
tection of property, they can be made more severe, 
but a citizen charged with crime must have his case 
tried before a jury of his peers. [Letter of acceptance, 
1900. 



Should the accused be given the right of trial by 
jury when the contempt charged is committed out- 
side of the presence of the court? The writ of injunc- 
tion has been employed a few times against the trusts, 
but it has been employed out of consideration for the 
trusts. The trusts themselves have preferred the in- 
junction to the criminal process. The injunction, 
however, has been employed against the laboring men, 
not out of consideration for them, but in order to 
deny to them the right of trial by jury. No one de- 



222 THE EEAL BRYAN 

fends the commission of crime by laboring men, but 
it is not defending a crime to say that one charged 
with a crime should be entitled to trial by jury. It 
is not necessary that one should indorse the use of the 
injunction in labor troubles in order to say that he 
is a friend of law and order. Law can be preserved 
and order enforced without surrendering the protec- 
tion afforded by jury trial, and the claim of the labor- 
ing men to this protection is a just claim and one that 
should have been recognized long ago. [From an edi- 
torial in The Commoner.'] 



^navanU^^ ^axxh& 



THE PLAN OUTLINED 



The plan of the guaranteed bank i^ simply this: 
Statistics show the average loss to depositors to be very 
small, taking all the banks together. But the de- 
positors are afraid because they do not know much 
about the affairs of any particular bank. The post- 
master general, in recommending the postal savings 
banks, called attention to the fact that a large sum of 
money is sent back to the government banks of Eu- 
rope by people who are afraid to trust the private 
banks here and Mr. Wanamaker has been quoted as 
saying that a large sum is kept in hoarding and hid- 
ing places in this country. 

If this sum can be drawn into the banks and thus 
be put into channels of trade it will relieve the 
stringency more effectively than anything else. The 
postal bank will do this to a limited extent, but not 
completely, for in the plan proposed the depositors 
will be limited as to each person, and there will be no 
checking account allowed. 

The system of the guaranteed banks contemplates the 
absolute guarantee by the government of such banks as 
may voluntarily enter into the system. In entering 
the system they agree to reimburse the government in 

223 



224 THE REAL BKYAN 

proportion to their deposits for any losses incurred by 
the government in payment of depositors in failed 
banks. During the last forty years the average loss 
among national banks has been less than one-tenth of 
one per cent of deposits, and, as we have passed 
through two panics in that time, it is not likely that 
the average loss will be greater during the next forty 
years. 

The government by its guarantee makes the bank 
deposits equivalent to government bonds, and yet it 
assumes no real risk because it has the capital, the 
stock, the surplus and the additional liability of the 
stockholders of the guaranteed banks as its security. 
[From an editorial in The Commoner, December 
13, 1907.'] 



The only objection that 13 likely to be made is that 
state banks might be less attractive to depositors if na- 
tional banks are guaranteed, but there are two answers 
to this objection. In the first place, state banks are 
likely to suffer if this financial stringency continues; 
and they are therefore interested in restoring confi- 
dence. In the second place, there is no reason why 
state banks should not be protected by a similar sys- 
tem under which the state would guarantee depositors 
in state banks and collect the expenses from the state 
banks guaranteed. 

Mr. Bryan proposed when in congress the raising of 
a guarantee fund for the protection of depositors, but 
the bill was defeated by the larger banks on the ground 



THE REAL BRYAN 225 

that the big banks would have no advantage over the 
little ones if all depositors were secured, but now that 
the big banks are suffering as much as the little ones 
the objection will hardly be made. The plan then 
proposed would furnish protection as far as the fund 
would furnish it, but it would take time to raise such 
a fund, and it is better for the government to make 
the security absolute by becoming guarantor, for this 
system can be put into operation at once and that, too, 
without expense to the government, inasmuch as the 
banks would reimburse the government from time to 
time in case the government was called upon to pay 
the deposits of any failed bank. [From an editorial 
in The Commoner, Nov. 29, 1907.] 

''make all banks equally good'' 

Hamilton, 0., February 20. — Mr. James B; Forgan, 
First National Bank, Chicago, Illinois: Dear Sir: 
Being absent from home, I have not yet received the 
letter which you addressed to me at Lincoln, Neb., 
but having read it in the Chicago Record-Herald, I 
hasten to reply. 

The lang-uage which I attributed to you, I quoted 
word for word from one of the Chicago papers. I 
have no way of ascertaining just now from which 
paper I quoted it, but that is immaterial, for I am per- 
fectly willing to accept your correction, and to argue 
the proposition upon the language which you use in 
your letter. 

You were quoted by one of the papers as saying 



226 THE REAL BRYAN 

that the guarantee of deposits "would make all banks 
safe," whereas what you really said was that it would 
''make all banks equally good." I accept the correc- 
tion, although the distinction which you draw is, I 
think, a very fine one. But desiring to do you full 
justice, I will hereafter be careful to use your exact 
language and not trust to paraphrasing even when 
the paraphrase closely follows your language. 

You object to the government's guarantee because it 
puts all banks on an equality and makes all banks 
equally good, and you object to it for two reasons; 
First, because it would deprive banks like your own 
of the advantage which they have won by ''conserva- 
tism and good management." You intimate that it is 
not selfish £or you to defend yourself and your bank 
against a policy that would "despoil" you or it "of 
vested rights and property," and are willing to admit 
your selfishness if that can be considered selfish. 

Let me make the charge so directly that there can 
be no question about what I mean. I charge that you 
put the interests of your stockholders above the in- 
terests of your depositors and that you put the interests 
of the big bank above the interests of the various com- 
munities and of the public at large. You admit this 
when you insist that the guarantee of all banks would 
deprive your stockholders of a value which has come 
from wise management. 

Let me remind you that that which you regard as 
"good will" is largely an advantage created by law. 
The good will which you measure in dollars and cents 
is not entirely due to good management. It is due, 



THE REAL BRYAN 227 

in the first place, to the fact that you are a National 
bank, and you are a national bank because the repre- 
sentatives of the people enacted a law that permitted 
you to organize as a national bank. It is due in part 
to the fact that national banks are inspected and regu- 
lated by law, and these laws are made by the repre- 
sentatives of the people. It is due in part to the fact 
that many people believe that deposits in national 
banks are in some way guaranteed by the government 
as the bank note is. The people who deposit money 
in your bank do not, as a rule, know anything about 
the management of the bank. They do not know any- 
thing about your methods of doing business. They 
do not know whether the directors are using the de- 
posits for their own enterprises or carefully guarding 
them. They do not know any more about the in- 
terior workings of your bank than they did about Mr. 
Walsh's bank or than they knew about other banks 
that have failed. They take it for granted that your 
bank is safe because they trust the government and 
have confidence in the regulation, restriction and in- 
spection of banks. If you had rented a room and 
announced that James B. Forgan would accept money 
on deposit and carry on business as a private banker 
without any regulation or restriction as to the manner 
of conducting the business, you might have claimed 
credit for such reputation and standing as you might 
have been able to acquire. But you did not do that. 
You associated yourself with a bank whose prestige 
and reputation depend more upon the law and upon 



228 THE REAL BRYAN 

the presumption given by the people to the law, than 
upon superior care or management. 

When the laws were made, the law makers thought 
they had provided for the security of depositors, and 
it is not only unfair in you to count as entirely per- 
sonal to yourself or your directors, the confidence 
shown by the public in your bank, but it is selfish to 
insist that the people have no right to obtain further 
security, even if, as a result of that, your bank loses 
some of the advantages which it now has over smaller 
banks. The bank exists for the benefit of the people. 
It is a mistake to assume that the people exist for 
the benefit of the bank. The laws regulating banking 
are made for the depositors rather than for the stock- 
holders, because the stockholders are able to protect 
themselves, while the depositors are helpless. 

The law requires that a certain percentage of the 
deposits shall be kept as a reserve — why? For the 
benefit of depositors. The law provides that not more 
than ten per cent of the capital and surplus shall be 
loaned to one person — why? For the protection of 
depositors. Every law passed for the protection of 
depositors tends to equalize the banks, and you can 
make just as sound an argument in favor of the repeal 
of all restrictions as you can make against the guar- 
antee of deposits. The fundamental difficulty is that 
you look at the question from the standpoint of the 
banker and not from the standpoint of the 
depositor, and you insist that the depositor shall be 
left unsecured in order that your bank may have an 
Advantage over smaller banks. 



THE REAL BRYAN 229 

What security do you give your depositors that 
other banks do not give their depositors? Is it that 
the officers of your bank are better men? They may 
die, and inferior men take their places. Is it because 
your directors are better than other directors? The 
board of directors may change. Is it because your 
stockholders are better than others? Your stock is 
sold on the market and a change may take place any 
day in the ownership of the stock, that will entirely 
change the character of the bank, and if such change 
takes place, w^ho will know it? Will not the new 
directors and the new officers claim to be conservative? 
When a bank fails, the public finds out for the first 
time what has been going on behind the counter. 

All banks are '^conservatively" managed until they 
fail, and then they take their place among "recklessly" 
managed banks. As a matter of fact nearly all banks 
are managed well enough to protect depositors from 
loss but the trouble is that the depositors have no 
way of knowing with certainty w^hich are good and 
which are bad. If the depositors could know just 
what banks are safe, and what unsafe, they might 
not need the protection of the law, but they do not 
know this until too late. 

In the recent stringency, the banks all over the 
country felt themselves justified in suspending pay- 
ment upon checks, and for the first time in our his- 
tory the depositor was told how much of his own 
money he would be allowed to draw out for the carry- 
ing on of his business. Why was this extraordinary 
step necessary? Because the banks throughout the 



230 THE REAL BRYAN 

country had deposited a part of their reserve3 in New 
York and other reserve cities, and could not withdraw 
them. Each bank feared a run if it permitted the 
withdrawal of deposits, and why w^ould depositors 
w^ant to withdraw? Because they were afraid of losing 
their deposits, if they did not withdraw. You will re- 
member that the big banks were not any better than 
the little ones in that crisis, and as a result of the 
stringency that follow^ed, immense loss w^as suffered 
by men who had deposited money in the banks with 
the firm belief that they could withdraw the money 
at will. 

I answer your first argument, therefore, by saying, 
that you overestimate the personal element in the 
prestige that you enjoy and underestimate the advan- 
tage that you derive from the law; and, second, that 
our la\^'s should be made for the benefit of all the 
people and not for the benefit of a few of the people. 
The number of those who deposit in the banks is 
larger than the number of stockholders, and you must 
not forget that widow^s and orphans are depositors in 
banks as Avell as purchasers of bank stock. While I 
can admire the interest wiiich you feel in the widows 
and orphans who are stockholders, I must remind 
you that the widows and orphans who deposit money 
in banks are also entitled to consideration. It is su- 
premely selfish in you to forget the interests of the 
larger number of depositors who make banking profit- 
able. Banking would not be very advantageous if 
you only loaned the money of the stockholders. The 
real profit of banking comes from the loan of de- 



THE REAL BRYAN 231 

positors' money and it is a little heartless in you to 
look at the question entirely from the standpoint of 
those who get the benefit of the deposits. The law 
considers the welfare of those who make the deposits 
and it is unfortunate that those in charge of the banks 
do not always take a view of the situation broad 
enough to include the interests of depositors. 

Your second argument is, that the guarantee of de- 
posits would lead to reckless banking and that the 
business communities would protest against the guar- 
antee system on the ground that it would make all 
banks insecure and drive the better class of people 
out of the banking business. 

That, of course, is a prophecy, and a prophecy is 
more difficult to answer than an argument based upon 
history. In so far as experience teaches anything, it 
teaches just the contrary. A guarantee law has been 
passed in Oklahoma, and the result is that the bank- 
ers of southern Kansas have joined with the depositors 
in asking for a special session of the legislature in 
Kansas to consider a guarantee system, and they have 
done so because they fear that deposits will be with- 
drawn from Kansas and carried into Oklahoma. In 
my home city, a vote w^as taken in the Commercial 
club, which is composed of business and professional 
men, and the vote stood about ten to one in favor of 
the guaranteed bank. And since you refer to the 
silver question, I beg to inform you that the men who 
voted ten to one in favor of the guaranteed bank, 
voted about three to one a2:ainst the restoration of 
bimetallism. Instead of driving men out of the bank- 



232 THE REAL BRYAN 

ing business, the Oklahoma law has led a number of 
national bankers to take steps toward changing their 
banks into state banks in order to take advantage of 
the state law, in case national banks are not allowed 
to enter the system. If national banks are not per- 
mitted to avail themselves of state guarantee systems, 
the state banks are likely to gain an advantage over 
the national banks, and the national bankers under- 
stand this. 

When I tried to secure the passage of a bill in Ne- 
braska, providing a guarantee fund for state banks, 
it was opposed by the national banks on the ground 
that people would remove their deposits from the na- 
tional banks to the state banks, if the state banks were 
made absolutely secure; and it is to avoid injustice 
to either class of banks, that I have urged that national 
banks should be permitted to take advantage of guar- 
antee systems established in the states and that state 
banks should be permitted to take advantage of any 
guarantee system established by congress. 

The guarantee of deposits will not produce reckless- 
ness in management. You are selected by the stock- 
holders, not by the depositors. You will endeavor to 
manage your bank in the interest of the stockholders, 
and your argument shows that you consider their in- 
terests as paramount. Under a guaranteed system of 
banks, you would still be responsible to your stock- 
holders. They would lose all that they have and be 
subjected to the 100 per cent liability in addition, 
before other banks could lose anything on account of 
your bank's failure. Would this not be sufficient to 



THE KEAL BRYAN 233 

make you careful? And if your regard for your stock- 
holders would make you careful, why would not other 
bank officials be made careful by their regard for their 
stockholders? The guarantee of deposits does not re- 
lieve the stockholders of responsibility — neither does 
it relieve the director or the officer of care. The guar- 
antee of deposits simply means that the depositors who 
have no choice in the selection of officers shall not be 
held responsible because of mismanagement by officers. 

Do you think we could improve the character of 
our bankers by repealing all laws providing for regu- 
lation and inspection? If not, why do you think it 
would lower the character of bank officials to increase 
the security of depositors? 

Your indictment against banking is more severe 
than I have ever brought — more severe than is brought 
by depositors generally. You are not willing to trust 
other banks to the extent of helping to pay their de- 
positors, although it could be but a small tax upon 
your bank, and yet you expect depositors to trust 
the banks, even though the depositors may lose all 
that they put into the banks. If bankers will not trust 
each other, they ought not be surprised at some 
timidity among depositors. 

The fact is, that the country is suffering today from 
lack of confidence in banks more than from any other 
cause. The money can not be drawn from hiding 
and hoarding unless the depositors are assured of the 
safety of the banks. The amount of the tax on each 
bank would be little compared with the benefit which 
it would receive from its share of the increased de- 



234 THE REAL BRYAN 

posits, and as for making banks unsafe, the guarantee 
system will insure safer banking. 

Nearly every bank failure is due to the appropria- 
tion of the money by the directors or officers. In dis- 
cussing this question in New York recently, I put the 
question to ex-Secretary Gage and to Mr. Baker, the 
president of the National Bank of New York, and they 
admitted in the presence of a company of some eight 
hundred that almost all bank failures are traceable 
to the misconduct of directors. They also admitted 
that the law ought to make it a criminal offense for 
a bank official to loan more than one-tenth of the 
capital or surplus to one person. 

Why have w^e not been able to secure better regula- 
tion of banks? The answer is simple. The bad banks 
don't w^ant any regulation and the good banks prefer 
to make a business advantage out of the recklessness 
of other banks. When banks become mutually re- 
sponsible for each other's depositors, it will be easier 
to secure the proper regulation of the banks. 

The financiers of the country have had their way 
for a generation, and they have not used their inliu- 
ence to protect depositors. They have failed so com- 
pletely that the postmaster general has recommended 
the postal savings bank for the security of savings. 
Millions of dollars are sent out of this country every 
year to be deposited in the government banks of Europe 
because of distrust of our banks, and the guaranteed 
bank is being advocated as a means of protecting de- 
positors. 

Those who preside over the big banks have not been 



THE REAL BRYAN 235 

as interested as they ought to have been in the general 
public. They have been satisfied to rai;3e their own 
bank stock to a premium, by pointing out the inse- 
curity of deposits in smaller banks, and they object to 
having this advantage removed. The big bank has 
two advantages over the small bank even when the de- 
positors are made secure. In the first place, a big 
bank can loan more to one person than a small bank 
can and is thus able to draw the business of the larger 
merchant. This is an advantage that the big bank 
will still have. A bank with a capital of a million 
and a surplus of a million can loan two hundred thou- 
sand dollars to one individual, while a bank with a 
capital of a hundred thousand and a surplus of a 
hundred thousand, can only loan twenty thousand 
dollars to one person. 

There is also a prestige in the big bank that busi- 
ness men understand. There is a certain vanity to 
w^hich the big bank appeals. The depositor has the 
advantage of business acquaintance and business con- 
nection with the big bank. He can refer to it when 
his business standing is asked, and this advantage the 
big bank will still have. Why should it ask for an 
advantage based upon the insecurity of all depositors 
and the insecurity of all communities? Why not 
''make all banks equally good" so far as the depositor 
is concerned? Why not protect all wddows and all 
orphans from danger of loss to their deposits? Why 
not protect all business men from the danger of hav- 
ing payment on their checks suspended? Why not 
protect all communities from the embarrassment that 



236 THE REAL BRYAN 

follows a bank failure? Why not protect banks from 
runs and withdrawals based upon timidity and fear? 
Why not make banks so secure that people will de- 
posit all their money in the banks instead of putting 
some of it away under carpets? The amount of money 
that will be drawn from hoarding and hiding by the 
guarantee of bank deposits will give us a larger cir- 
culation than can be secured through frantic calls 
upon the government for its surplus funds. When 
the banks were in distress, they did not hesitate to call 
upon the government for the use of the people's money 
and that money was loaned to them without interest 
to the extent of nearly two hundred and fifty million 
dollars. This money was raised by taxation upon all 
the people and while the people's money was being 
loaned to the banks to tide them over a stringency, 
the people themselves were afraid to deposit their 
money in the banks and many of them were with- 
drawing their money from the banks. 

It all depends upon the point of view. If legislation 
is to have for its object the welfare of the whole people, 
then the guaranteed bank ought to come and come 
to stay. If, however, legislation is to have for its object 
the securing of privileges to a few of the community 
at the expense of the rest of the community, your 
argument is sound. 

I believe that it would be perfectly safe for the fed- 
eral government to guarantee deposits in the national 
banks, collecting from all the banks in proportion to 
deposits the amount that it would have to pay out to 
the depositors of banks that fail, and I believe that it 



THE REAL BRYAN 237 

would be safe for states to adopt a similar system to 
guarantee the depositor in state banlvs. In that case, 
the government would have back of it the assets of 
all the banks. Experience show^s that the loss has been 
less than one-tenth of one per cent in the case of 
national banks during the last forty years, and it 
ought to be even less than that with the better regu- 
lation that would come with a guaranteed system. But 
if objection is made to an absolute guaranty by the 
government, the same end can be reached by the sys- 
tem adopted in Oklahoma whereby the banking board 
collects a guarantee fund and is then empowered to 
make such further assessments as may be necessary to 
restore the fund in case money is drawn from it to 
pay the depositors of a failed bank. This puts all of 
the banks behind each bank, without involving the 
government in a direct guarantee. 

I thank you for your letter. Your position in the 
banking world is so prominent that I can assume that 
you have said all that can be said in opposition to the 
guaranteed bank, and w^hen you fail so completely to 
make out a case and show^ so conclusively that you 
take a one-sided view of the subject and ignore the wel- 
fare of depositors and of the country at large, I need 
not expect that any stronger arguments will be pre- 
sented by anyone else. I think your letter w^ill make 
an excellent campaign document because it shows that 
the depositors must look out for their own interests 
and secure legislation for their own protection. 

This letter, like yours, is intended for the public as 
well as for the one to whom it is addressed, and I 



238 THE EEAL BRYAN 

shall, therefore, give it to the press without waiting 
for it to reach you and I shall take pleasure in print- 
ing your letter in full in The Commoner, that the 
readers of my paper may have the benefit of your views. 

Very truly yours, 

W. J. BRYAN. 

[From The Commoner.] 



WALL STREET AND THE TREASURY 

Those who demand the divorcement of the treasury 
department from Wall street are not the enemies of 
private property; they simply insist that public prop- 
erty should not be taken for private purposes, and that 
the functions of government should not become an 
asset in private husiness. It ought not to be consid- 
ered heresy to say that the government should be 
administered by the people in their own behalf. It 
ought not to subject one to criticism to declare that 
the financial system of the government should be made 
to subserve the interests of the whole people and not 
be used to advance the interests of a few. Legislation 
can produce a drouth of money as surely as the sun, 
when rain is withheld, can produce a drouth in the 
fields, and scarcity of money is as sure to increase the 
purchasing power of the dollar as scarcity of a cereal 
is sure to raise the price per bushel. Those who insist 
that the dollar should be made as stable as possible in 
its purchasing power are not the enemies of property ; 
they simply protest against allowing the standard of 
value to be juggled with in the interest of the money- 
changer and the holder of fixed investments. 

Those who desire to have the taxes limited to the 

239 



240 THE EEAL BRYAN 

needs of the government and, when collected, kept in 
the treasury, are not guilty of doing injustice to the 
banks. They are simply advocating a system which 
denies to the banks a valuable and unearned privilege 
which, when bestowed, arrays the banks against the 
rest of the people, for if the banks can make a profit 
out of the government deposits they are pecuniarily 
interested in keeping the surplus large while the rest 
of the people are interested in keeping the surplus 
small. 

In like manner it can be shown that those who op- 
pose banlvs of issue are not open to the criticism that 
they are attacking property interests, for there is no 
more reason why a bank should draw interest upon 
bonds and at the same time have the use of the face 
value of the bonds in bank notes, than that any other 
bondholder should keep his money and at the same 
time draw interest upon it as if loaned to the govern- 
ment, and there is no good reason why this particular 
form of security should be singled out and made pofit- 
able to the holder, while other forms of security, 
equally good, are discriminated against. [From an 
article published in the Saturday Evening Post in 
1905.'] 

AN ATTRIBUTE 0^ SOVEREIGNTY 

No person or corporation has a natural right to issue 
money. It is "an attribute of sovereignty," and the 
banks can no more demand as a right the power to 
supply a currency for the people than they can de- 
mand the right to enact laws for the general govern- 



THE REAL BRYAN 241 

ment of the people. I tniet I shall not offend anyone 
when I say that banks are not eleemosynary or philan- 
thropic institutions. They have their place in society 
and, when they conduct themselves properly, contrib- 
ute to the welfare of society just as every good citizen 
contributes to the welfare of society by his services. 
The business of loaning and discounting is not nec- 
essarily connected with issuing money, and if the 
banks join to their legitimate business the issue of 
paper which is to pass as money, we may rest assured 
that they will do it for the profit there is in it. [From 
speech delivered in House of Representatives, June 5, 

ASSET CURRENCY 

There is such a similarity between the editorials in 
the city dailies demanding an asset currency as to 
suggest that the editorials are written in response to 
a suggestion from the money centers. The big finan- 
ciers have either brought on the present stringency to 
compel the government to authorize an asset currency 
or they have promptly taken advantage of the panic 
to urge the scheme w^hich they have had in mind for 
years. Several years ago Secretary Shaw stated that 
we must either have a perpetual debt or the bank notes 
would have "some other basis." The "some other 
basis" referred to is the asset basis. When it became 
apparent that the public would not tolerate an asset 
currency, the financiers asked for an emergency cur- 
rency based on assets. This was only a subterfuge and 
the republican leaders were afraid to press it at the 



242 THE HEAL BHYAN 

last session. Now it is to be brought forward as if it 
were a new remedy, just thought of as a panic cure. 
It is a panic breeder instead of a panacea ; it would ag- 
gravate rather than relieve the situation. It would 
increase the bank's liabilities just at a time when de- 
positors are fearful that the bank cannot meet present 
liabilities. The need of elasticity has been very much 
exaggerated; if banks would prepare in advance for 
^^moving crops'' and for such other future demands as 
may be reasonably expected they would not be con- 
fronted by so many ''emergencies." The trouble is 
that they loan to the limit in ordinary times and there- 
fore have no reserve available for the unusual demands. 
Another trouble is that the banks are encouraged to 
keep a large part of their reserve in reserve cities and 
therefore a shock in any of the big cities disturbs bank- 
ing everywhere. Just now the country banks cannot 
use their reserves because the big city banks will not 
allow deposits to be withdrawn. 

When the same money is counted over and over 
in the reserves of several banks, the withdrawal of 
one thousand dollars results in shrinkage of several 
times that sum. 

The democrats should be on their guard and resist 
this concerted demand for an asset currency. It would 
simply increase Wall Street's control over the nation's 
finances, and that control is tyrannical enough now. 
Such elasticity as is necessary should be controlled by 
the government and not by the banks. The govern- 
ment could furnish a certain amount of elasticity by 
increasing and decreasing government deposits accord- 



THE REAL BRYAN 243 

ing to the needs of business; or it could provide for 
the temporary issue of treasury notes on government 
bonds whenever an holder of bonds is willing to sur- 
render the interest; or it could issue treasury notes in 
any emergency. But none of these plans will suit the 
financiers; they insist upon absolute control of the 
nation's finances — they to reap the advantage while 
the public bears the burden and takes the chances. 

But the democrats in the senate and house are in 
duty bound to look at the question from the stand- 
point of the people, and oppose the asset currency in 
w^hatever form it may appear. They may also have 
to oppose the great central bank, which is a part of 
a scheme of the financiers. And they will find that 
the same influences which are behind the asset cur- 
rency and the central bank are behind the president's 
plan for national incorporation of railroads. They 
are all a part of plutocracy's plan to increase its hold 
upon the government. 

What we need just now is not an emergency cur- 
rency but greater security for depositors. The de- 
positors are scared — unnecessarily scared in most cases 
— but scared. The government is going to recommend 
a postal savings bank but, according to press dispatches, 
deposits will not be accepted in excess of two hundred 
and fifty dollars from any one person. This is good 
as far as it goes, but it does not go far enough. All 
bank depositors should be made to feel secure, and they 
could be made to feel secure by a guaranty fund raised 
by a small tax upon deposits. When depositors feel 
sure of their money they will not care to withdraw it, 



244 THE REAL BRYAN 

and the money which would be drawn from hiding 
places would more than repay the banks for the small 
tax necessary. 

The first thing is to release the public from the grip 
of Wall Street and then, when the stock gamblers have 
t9 suffer for their own sins instead of unloading them 
on the general public, we may expect legislation in 
the interest of the people at large. IFrom an editorial 
in The Commoner.'] 



IMPERIALISM 

The defenders of imperialism or colonialism have 
posed as the special champions of commercial interests 
and of property rights, and so distinguished a represent- 
ative of the imperialists as Senator Lodge has advo- 
cated the holding of the Philippines on the ground that 
our nation must look after its pecuniary interests. No 
one who will investigate the subject will doubt that the 
persons benefited by imperialism are small in number 
compared with the persons whose property interests 
are injured by imperialism. Thousands pay taxes to 
hold the Filipinos in subjection where one person 
draws a dollar's worth of profit out of our occupation of 
the islands. The profit realized from trade with the 
Filipinos amounts to but a small per cent upon the 
money that w^e are expending there, and all the people 
spend the money w^hile but a handful reap the benefits. 

The American does not expect to go to the Philippine 
Islands to live. If all of the Filipinos were killed off, 
the country would not be colonized by Americans as 
North America was colonized by Europe. Ahab had a 
far better excuse for wanting the land of Naboth than 
we have for wanting the Philippine Islands. Naboth's 

245 



246 THE REAL BRYAN 

land joined the land of Ahab and the taking of it en- 
larged the land that he cultivated, and yet the Bible 
tells U5 that Naboth's right to hold the land was vin- 
dicated. Who will vindicate our right to conquer the 
Filipinos in order to hold land that must be worked 
through overseers and protected by an alien govern- 
ment and an army? The right of the Filipino to hold 
his property rests upon the same basis that our right 
to hold property does, and we cannot ignore his prop- 
erty rights without endangering our own. [From an 
'article 'published in the Saturday Evening Post in 
1905.1 

While the American people are endeavoring to ex- 
tend an unsolicited sovereignty over remote peoples, 
foreign financiers will be able to complete the conquest 
of our own country. Labor's protest against the black 
list and government by injunction and its plea for 
arbitration, shorter hours and a fair share of the wealth 
which it creates, will be drowned in noisy disputes over 
new boundary lines and in the clash of conflicting 
authority. 

Monopoly can thrive in security so long as the in- 
quiry, "Who will haul down the flag?" on distant 
islands turns public attention away from the question, 
'^Who will uproot the trusts at home?" 

What will it cost the people to substitute contests 
over treaties for economic issues? What will it cost the 
people to postpone consideration of remedial legisla- 
tion while the ship of state tosses about in the whirl- 
pool of international politics? 



THE REAL BRYAN 247 

English rule in India is bad not because it is Eng- 
lish, but because no race has yet appeared sufficiently 
strong in character to resist the temptations which 
come with irresponsible power. 

We may well turn from the contemplation of an 
imperial policy and its necessary vices to the words of 
Jefferson in his first inaugural message: ''Sometimes 
it is said that man cannot be trusted with the govern- 
ment of himself. Can he, then, be trusted with the 
government of others? Or have we found angels in the 
form of kings to govern him? Let history answer this 
question." 

The alien may possess greater intelligence and 
greater strength, but he lacks the sympathy for, and 
the identification with, the people. We have only to 
recall the grievances enumerated in the Declaration of 
Independence to learn how an ocean may dilute jus- 
tice and how the cry of the oppressed can be silenced 
by distance. And yet the inhabitants of the colonies 
were the descendants of Englishmen — blood of their 
blood and bone of their bone. Shall we be more consid- 
erate of subjects farther away from us, and differing 
from us in color, race and tongue, than the English 
were of their own offspring? 

Modest Jefferson! — he had been Governor, Ambas- 
sador to France, Vice-President and President; he was 
ripe in experience and crowned with honors; but this 
modern lawgiver, this immortal genius, hesitated to 
suggest laws for a people with whose habits, customs 
and methods of thought he was unfamiliar. And yet 
the imperialists of today, intoxicated by a taste of blood, 



248 THE REAL BRYAN 

are rash enough to enter upon the government of the 
Filipinos, confident of the nation's ability to compel 
obedience, even if it cannot earn gratitude or win af- 
fection. Plutarch said that men entertained three sen- 
timents concerning the ancient gods : They feared them 
for their strength, admired them for their wisdom, 
and loved them for their justice. Jefferson taught the 
doctrine that governments should win the love of men. 
What shall be the ambition of our nation, to be loved 
because it is just or to be feared because it is strong? 
[From a neivspaper article on Imperialism.^ 



Jefferson has been quoted in support of imperialism, 
but our opponents must distinguish between imperial- 
ism and expansion ; they must also distinguish between 
expansion in the western hemisphere and an expansion 
that involves us in the quarrels of Europe and the 
Orient. They must still further distinguish between 
expansion which secures contiguous territory for future 
settlement, and expansion which secures us alien races 
for future subjugation. 

Jefferson favored the annexation of necessary con- 
tiguous territory on the North American continent, but 
he was opposed to wars of conquest and expressly con- 
demned the acquiring of remote territory. [Interview 
at Savannah, Ga., December 13, 1898.] 



While our plans should be unselfish, they would 
probably prove profitable in the end, for friends are 



THE REAL BRYAN 249 

better customers than enemies, and our trade is apt to 
develop in proportion as we teach the natives to live 
as we do. When Solomon came to the throne, instead 
of choosing riches or long life, he asked for wisdom 
that he might govern his people aright, and he received 
not only wisdom, but the riches and the length of days 
which he had regarded as less important. May we not 
expect a similar reward if we choose the better part 
and put the welfare of the natives above our ow^n gain ? 

After all, the test question is, have we "faith in the 
wisdom of doing right?" Are we willing to trust the 
conscience and moral sense of those whom de desire to 
aid? 

Individuals have put Christianity to the test and have 
convinced themselves that benevolence, unarmed, is 
mightier than selfishness equipped with sword and mail, 
but nations have as yet seldom ventured to embody the 
spirit of the Nazarene in their foreign policy. Is it 
not an opportune time for our nation to mako the 
trial? Our President has recently been hailed as a 
peace-maker because he took the initiative in terminat- 
ing a great war, but this involved no sacrifice upon our 
part. May we not win a greater victory by proving 
our disinterested concern for the welfare of a people 
separated from us not only by vast waters but by race, 
by language and by color? 

Carlyle in concluding his history of the French 
Eevolution declared that thought is stronger than ar- 
tillery parks and that back of every great thought is 
love. This is a lofty platform, but net too lofty for 
the United States of America. 



250 THE REAL BRYAN 

We have more at stake in this matter than have the 
Filipinos. They still have their national greatness to 
achieve; our position is already established. We have 
the greatest republic known to history ; we are the fore- 
most champion of the doctrine of self-government and 
one of the leading exponents of Christianity. We can 
afford, aye our honor requires us, to be candid with the 
Filipinos and to take them into our confidence. We 
dare not make them victims of commercial greed or 
use their islands for purely selfish purposes. It is high 
time to announce a purpose that shall be righteous and 
to carry out that purpose by means that shall be hon- 
orable. [From letter on Philippines.] 



Awake, ancient Law-Giver, awake! Break forth 
from thine unmarked sepulchre and speed thee back 
to cloud-crowned Sinai; commune once more with the 
God of our fathers and proclaim again the words en- 
graven upon the tables of stone — the law that was, the 
law that is today — the law that neither individual nor 
nation can violate with impunity. [From speech de- 
livered at Chicago, III., January 7, 1899, 



Other nations may dream of wars of conquest and of 
distant dependencies governed by external force; not 
so with the United States. The fruits of imperialism, 
be they bitter or sweet, must be left to the subjects of 
monarchy. This is the one tree of which the citizens 
of a republic may not partake. It is the voice of the 



THE REAL BRYAN 251 

serpent, not the voice of God, that bids us eat. [From 
a speech delivered in Denver, January 17, 1899.] 



COLONIALISM 

Our nation has lost prestige rather than gained it 
by our experiment in colonialism. We have given the 
monarchLst a chance to ridicule our Declaration of In- 
dependence and the scoffer has twitted us with incon- 
sistency. A tour through the Philippine Islands has 
deepened the conviction that we should lose no time in 
announcing our purpose to deal with the Filipinos as 
we dealt with the Cubans. Every consideration, com- 
mercial and political, leads to this conclusion. Such 
ground as we may need for coaling stations or for a 
naval base will be gladly conceded by the Filipinos, 
who simply desire an opportunity to work out their 
own destiny, inspired by our example and aided, by our 
advice. Insofar as our efforts have been directed toward 
the education of the Filipinos, we have rendered them 
a distinct service, but in educating them we must recog- 
nize that we are making colonialism impossible. If 
we intended to hold them as subjects we would not dare 
to educate them. Self-government with ultimate inde- 
pendence must be assumed if we contemplate universal 
education in the Philippines. [From Madison Square 
Garden, New York, speech, August SO, 1906.] 

SELF-GOVERNMENT 

Those who question the capacity of the Filipinos for 

self-government overlook the stimulating influence of 



252 THE REAL BRYAN 

self-government upon the people; they forget that re- 
sponsibility is an educating influence and that patriot- 
ism raises up persons fitted for the work that needs to 
be done. Those who speak contemptuously of the ca- 
pacity of the Filipinos, ignore the fact that they were 
fighting for self-government before the majority of our 
people knew where the Philippine Islands were. Two 
years before our war with Spain, Rizal was put to death 
because of his advocacy of larger liberty for his people, 
and after witnessing the celebration of the ninth anni- 
versary of his death, I cannot doubt that his martyr- 
dom would be potent to stir the hearts of coming gen- 
erations whenever any government, foreign or domestic, 
disregarded the rights of the people. IFrom letter on 
Philippines.] 

LIBERTY 

In commemoration of the fact that France was our 
ally in securing independence, the citizens of that na- 
tion joined with the citizens of the United States in 
placing in New York Harbor an heroic statue repre- 
senting Liberty enlightening the world. "What course 
shall our nation pursue? Send the statue of Liberty 
back to France and borrow from England a statue of 
William the Conqueror? Or shall our nation so act as 
to enable the American people to join with the Fili- 
pinos in placing in the harbor of Manila a statue of 
Liberty enlightening the Orient? [Extract from a 
speech delivered at Democratic banquet, St. Paul, 
Minn., February 11^, 1899.'] 



THE REAL BRYAN 253 

MILITARISM 

Any unnecessar}^ increase in the regular army is 
open to several objections, among which may be men- 
tioned the following: 

First — It increases taxes, and thus does injustice to 
those who contribute to the support ef the government. 

Second — It tends to place force above reason in the 
structure of our government. 

Third — It lessens the nation's dependence upon its 
citizen soldiery — the sheet-anchor of a republic's de- 
fense. 

No one objects to the maintenance of a regular army 
sufficient in strength to maintain law and order in time 
of peace and to form the nucleus of such an army as 
may be required when the military establishment is 
placed upon a war footing ; but the taxpayers are justi- 
fied in entering a vigorous protest against excessive ap- 
propriations for military purposes. [From a news- 
paper article on Imperialism.'] 

CUBANS AND FILIPINOS 

Men may dare to do in crowds what they would 
not dare to do as individuals, but the moral character 
of an act is not determined by the number of those 
who join it. Force can defend a right, but force has 
never yet created a right. If it was true, as declared in 
the resolution of intervention, that the Cubans ''are 
and of right ought to be free and independent" (lan- 
guage taken from the Declaration of Independence), 
it is equally true that Filipinos ''are and of right ought 



254 THE KEAL BRYAN 

to be free and independent." The right of the Cubans 
to freedom was not based upon their proximity to the 
United States, nor upon the language which they spoke, 
nor yet upon the race or races to which they belonged. 
Congress by a practically unanimous vote declared that 
the principles enunciated at Philadelphia in 1776 were 
still alive and applicable to the Cubans. Who will 
draw a line between the natural rights of the Cubans 
and the Filipinos? Who will say that the former have 
a right to liberty and that the latter have no rights 
which we are bound to respect? And, if the Filipinos 
^'are and of right ought to be free and independent," 
what right have we to force our government upon them 
without their consent? Before our duty can be ascer- 
tained, their rights must be determined, and when 
their rights are once determined, it is as much our 
duty to respect those rights as it was the duty of Spain 
to respect the rights of the people of Cuba or the duty 
of England to respect the rights of the American col- 
onists. Rights never conflict ; duties never clash. Can 
it be our duty to usurp political rights which belong 
to others? Can it be our duty to kill those who, fol- 
lowing the example of our forefathers, love liberty well 
enough to fight for it? [Indianapolis speech in 1900.] 



®itje ©artflr 



■ The tariff question is very closely allied to the trust 
question, and the reduction of the tariff furnishes an 
easy means of limiting the extortion which the trusts 
can practice. AVhile absolute free trade would not 
necessarily make a trust impossible, still it is probable 
that very few manufacturing establishments would 
dare to enter into a trust if the President were em- 
powered to put upon the free list articles competing 
with those controlled by a trust. While I shall take 
occasion at an early day to consider the tariff question 
more at length, I can not permit this opportunity to 
pass without expressing the opinion that the principle 
embodied in the protective tariff has been the fruitful 
source of a great deal of political corruption as well 
as the mother of many of our most iniquitous trusts. 
It is difficult to condemn the manufacturers for unit- 
ing to take advantage of a high tariff schedule, w^hen 
the schedule is framed on the theory that the indus- 
tries need all the protection given and it is not likely 
that the beneficiaries of these schedules will consent 
to their reduction so long as the public waits for the 
tariff to be reformed by its friends. 

But one of the worst features of the tariff, levied 

255 



256 THE REAL BRYAN 

not for revenue but for the avowed purpose of protec- 
tion, is that it fosters the idea that men should use 
their votes to advance their own financial interests. 
The manufacturer has been assured that it is legiti- 
mate for him to vote for congressmen who, whatever 
their opinions on other subjects may be, will legislate 
larger dividends into his pockets; sheep growers have 
been encouraged to believe that they should have no 
higher aim in voting than to raise the price of wool; 
and laboring men have been urged to make their wages 
their only concern. 

For a generation the ^'fat" has been fried out of the 
manufacturers by the republican campaign commit- 
tee, and then the manufacturers have been reimbursed 
by legislation. With the public conscience educated 
to believe that this open purchase of legislation was en- 
tirely proper, no wonder that insurance companies 
have used the money of their policyholders to carry 
elections — no wonder that trusts have hastened to pur- 
chase immunity from punishment with liberal dona- 
tions! How can w^e draw a moral distinction between 
the man who sells his vote for five dollars on election 
day and the manufacturer who sells his political in- 
fluence for fifty or a hundred thousand dollars, payable 
in dividends? How can we draw a moral line between 
the senator or congressman elected by the trusts to 
prevent hostile legislation and the senator or congress- 
man kept in congress by the manufacturers to secure 
friendly legislation? The party that justifies the one 
form of bribery can not be relied upon to condemn the 
other. 



THE REAL BRYAN 257 

There never was a time when tariff reform could 
be more easily entered upon, for the manufacturers by 
selling abroad cheaper than at home, as many of them 
do, have not only shown their ingratitude toward 
those who built the tariff wall for them, but they have 
demonstrated their ability to sell in competition with 
the world. The high tariff has long been a burden to 
the consumers in the United States and it is growing 
more and more a menace to our foreign commerce be- 
cause it arouses resentment and provokes retaliation. 
[From Madison Square Garden^ New York, speech, 
August 30, 1906.1 

TWO ARGUMENTS 

Now, there are two arguments which I have never 
heard advanced in favor of protection; but they are 
the best arguments. They admit a fact and justify it; 
and I think that is the best way to argue, if you have 
a fact to meet. Why not say to the farmer, "Yes, of 
course you lose, but does not the Bible say, 'It is more 
blessed to give than to receive' — (laughter) — and if 
you suffer some inconvenience, just look back over 
your life and you will find that your happiest mo- 
ments were enjoyed when you were giving something 
to somebody, and the most unpleasant moments were 
when you were receiving." These manufacturers are 
self-sacrificing. They are willing to take the lesser part, 
and the more unpleasant business of receiving, and 
leave to you the greater joy of giving, (Loud laughter 
and applause on the democratic side.) 



258 THE REAL BRYAN 

Why do you not take the other theory, which is 
borne out by history — that all nations which have 
grown strong, powerful and influential, just as indi- 
viduals have done it, through hardship, toil and sac- 
rifice, and that after they have become wealthy they 
have been enervated, they have gone to decay through 
the enjoyment of luxury, and that the great advantage 
of the protective system is that it goes around among 
the people and gathers up their surplus earnings so 
that they will not be enervated or weakened, so that 
no legacy of evil will be left to their children. Their 
surplus earnings are collected up, and the great mass 
of our people are left strong, robust and hearty. These 
earnings are garnered and put into the hands of just 
as few people as possible, so that the injury will be 
limited in extent. (Great laughter and applause on 
the democratic side.) And they say, ''Yes, of course, 
of course; it makes dudes of our sons, and it does, 
perhaps, compel us to buy foreign titles for our daugh- 
ters (laughter)-, but of course if the great body of the 
people are benefited, as good, patriotic citizens we 
ought not to refuse to bear the burden." (Laughter.) 

\Vhy do they not do that? They simply come to 
you and tell you that they want a high tariff to make 
low prices, so that the manufacturer will be able to pay 
large wages to his employes. (Laughter.) And then, 
they want a high tariff on agricultural products, so 
that they will have to buy what they buy at the high- 
est possible price. They tell you that a tariff on wool 
is for the benefit of the farmer, and goes into his 
pocket, but that the tariff on manufactured products 



THE REAL BRYAN 259 

goes into the farmer's pockets, too, ''and really hurts 
us, but we will stand it if we must." They are much 
like a certain maiden lady of uncertain age, who said, 
'This being the third time that my beau has called, 
he might make some affectionate demonstration ;" and, 
summing up all her courage, she added, "I have made 
up my mind that if he does I will bear it with forti- 
tude." (Great laughter and applause.) [From 
speech delivered in House of Representatives March 
16, 1892.'] 

THE GREAT HOME INDUSTRY 

When some young man selects a young w^oman who 
is willing to trust her future to his strong right arm, and 
they start to build a little home, that home which is 
the unit of society and upon which our government 
and our prosperity must rest — when they start to 
build this little home, and the man who sells the 
lumber reaches out his hand to collect' a tariff upon 
that; the man who sells paints and oils w^an ts a tariff 
upon them; the man who furnishes the carpets, table- 
cloths, knives, forks, dishes, furniture, spoons, every- 
thing that enters into the construction and operation 
of that home — when all these hands, I say, are 
stretched out from every direction to lay their blight- 
ing weight upon that cottage, and the democratic party 
says, "Hands off, and let that home industry live," 
it is protecting the grandest home industry that this 
or any other nation ever had. (Loud applause on the 
democratic side.) 

And I am willing that you, our friends on the other 



260 THE REAL BRYAN 

side, shall have what consolation you may gain from 
the protection of those ''home industries" which have 
crowned with palatial residences the hills of New Eng- 
land, if you will simply give us the credit of being 
the champions of the homes of this land. (Applause 
on the democratic side.) It would seem that if any 
appeal could find a listening ear in this legislative 
hall it ought to be the appeal that comes up from 
those co-tenants of earth's only paradise; but your 
party has neglected them; more, it has spurned and 
spit upon them. When they asked for bread you gave 
them a stone, and when they asked for a fish you gave 
them a serpent. You have laid upon them burdens 
grievous to be borne. You have filled their days with 
toil and their nights with anxious care, and when 
they cried aloud for relief you were deaf to their en- 
treaties. 

It is said that when Ulysses was approaching the 
island of the Sirens, warned beforehand of their 
seductive notes, he put wax into the ears of his sailors 
and then strapped himself to the mast of the ship, so 
that, hearing, he could not heed. So our friends upon 
the other side tell us that there is depression in agri- 
culture, and a cry has come up from the people; but 
the leaders of your party have, as it were, filled witli 
wax the ears of their associates, and then have so tied 
themselves, by promises made before the election, to the 
protected interests, that, hearing, they can not heed. 
(Applause.) [From speech delivered in House of 
Representatives March 16, 1892.] 



THE REAL BRYAN 261 

BUSINESS AND THE TARIFF 

Senator Beveridge is in error — inexcusably in error 
— in assuming that either in the United States or 
throughout the world the protective principle is firmly 
established; he is in error — grossly in error — when he 
argues that our trade can be extended as much by 
reciprocity treaties as by a general reduction of the 
tariff; and he is in error — absurdly in error — when he 
declares that the tariff question can be taken out of 
politics and settled by a few experts. It is evident 
that the men who have been using the protective sys- 
tem to gather unto themselves an undue share of the 
annual production of wealth are badly frightened, for 
nothing but fear would compel them to advocate the 
appointment of a commission. When they feel sure 
of victory, even a tariff commission is scouted; and 
when the people at large get ready to revise the tariff 
— and they seem about ready — they will not allow a 
tariff commission to stand between them and relief. 
[From article in Reader Magazine.'] 

THAT TARIFF COMMISSION 

Every once in a while we hear that a tariff com- 
mission is going to be appointed. Let no one be de- 
ceived. A tariff commission is only a part of the effort 
to prevent a revision of the tariff. Whenever the peo- 
ple get ready to act, they are sagely informed that the 
subject is so intricate that it must be submitted to a 
commission of experts. The first advantage of this 
policy is that it secures delay. Instead of having 
tariff reform at once, we have the promise that it may 



262 THE REAL BRYAN 

be reformed after awhile. The commission is usually- 
made up of persons who are friends of the tariff and 
who object to revision. They take evidence, and the 
taking of evidence occupies time. This enables the 
protected interest to continue the collection of taxes 
for an indefinite period. Of course the commission 
must take time for deliberation after the evidence is 
all in, and then it must take more time for the prep- 
aration of its report, and if the report can be delayed 
until congress adjourns, further time must lapse be- 
fore the matter can be taken up in congress. Then 
the recommendation of the commission can be used as 
an argument against any further reduction than the 
commission recommends, and the representatives of 
protected industry can ignore any recommendations 
made. It does not help either to have the commission 
made up of both sides of the question, for the majority 
will be on the side of the high tariff, and it is likely 
to prolong the investigation to have both sides taking 
testimony. When the question finally comes before 
congress, each representative and senator will act upon 
his own judgment — or by the mouthpiece of the man- 
ufacturers of his district without regard to the recom- 
mendations of the commission — and a tariff commis- 
sion means a delay of from two to four years in the 
consideration of the question without any advantage 
whatever in the final settlement, and all this time the 
manufacturers have the benefit of the schedules against 
w^hich the people complain. No wonder the tariff 
commission idea is brought forward every time the 
people threaten an attack on the tariff wall. [From 
article in Reader Blagazine.l 



^egxxlation 

''good and bad'' trusts 

The first step toward the discovery of a remedy for 
the trusts is a recognition of the fact that private 
monopolies can not be classified as good or bad, but 
must be regarded as '^indefensible and intolerable." 
Nothing but evil can come from an attempt to draw a 
line between private monopolies ^'benevolently man- 
aged" and others managed by persons who are not 
benevolently inclined. Managers may die, resign, or 
be removed. Bad men may be replaced by worse ones 
or better ones, but the position which a trust occupies 
before the law cannot be determined by the virtue or 
lack of virtue of those in charge. In choosing between 
a monarchy and a republic, people do not decide ac- 
cording to the character of the man who may at the 
time be at the head of the government. They decide 
according to the principles which underlie the govern- 
ment. 

One of the objections to an attempt to classify 
trusts as good or bad is that arguments made in behalf 
of so-called good trusts will be used in behalf of bad 
-trusts. But a still greater objection is that an attempt 
merely to regulate so-called good trusts, without at- 

263 



264 THE REAL BRYAN 

lacking the principle of private monopolj^, results in 
the trusts getting hold of the government and pro- 
tecting all trusts. [From mi article written for ''Pub- 
lic Opinion" in 1905.] 

RAILROAD REGULATION 

If competition was free to work in the fixing of rail- 
road rates, the patrons of the road could protect them- 
selves, but there is no competition at all between inter- 
mediate points, and the rates are often fixed by agree- 
ment at competing points. It is as absurd to say that 
the patrons should depend upon the railroad managers 
for justice in rates, as it would be to say that a plaintiff 
should submit his case to a jury made up of de- 
fendants in the case. [From an article published in 
the Saturday Evening Post in 1905.] 



The republican party has persistently refused to 
comply with the urgent request of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission, for such an enlargement of 
the scope of the interstate commerce law as will en- 
able the commission to realize the hopes aroused by its 
creation. The democratic party is pledged to legis- 
lation which will empower the commission to protect 
individuals and communities from discrimination, 
and the public at large from unjust and unfair trans- 
poration rates. [Letter of acceptance, 1900.] 



The right of the United States government to regu- 
late interstate commerce cannot be questioned, and 



THE REAL BRYAN 265 

the necessity for the vigorous exercise of that right is 
becoming more and more imperative. The interests 
of the whole people require such an enlargement of 
the powers of the Interstate Commerce Commission as 
will enable it to prevent discrimination between per- 
sons and places, and protect patrons from unreason- 
able charges. [Letter of acceptance in 1896.] 



The railroad managers protest against inexperienced 
government officials being given power to fix railroad 
rates, but these managers overlook the fact that in 
reaching a decision the officials will have the benefit 
of the high-priced talent which the railroads employ. 
There is no danger that the railroads will fail to pre- 
sent to the officials empowered to fix rates all the facts 
necessary for the protection of the railroad's rights 
and interests. In fact, when the action of the rail- 
road managers in regard to rates can be reviewed and 
set aside by officials, it is likely that the rates will be 
arranged with so much more fairness than they are 
now that the board will have less to do than now. 
There is no danger of injustice being done to the rail- 
roads. The great danger is that the railroads will 
bring to bear upon the officials such a tremendous 
influence as to bias them in favor of the railroads. 
That is the real danger. [Commoner editorial in 
1905.] 

CORPORATIONS 

The democratic party makes no war upon honestly 
acquired wealth; neither does it seek to embarrass 



266 THE REAL BRYAN 

corporations engaged in legitimate business, but it does 
protest against corporations entering politics and at- 
tempting to assume control of the instrumentalities of 
government. A corporation is not organized for po- 
litical purposes, and should be compelled to confine 
itself to the business described in its charter. Honest 
corporations, engaged in an honest business, will find 
it to their advantage to aid in the enactment of such 
legislation as will protect them from the undeserved 
odium which will be brought upon them by those 
corporations which enter the political arena. [Letter 
of acceptance, 1900.1 

TRUSTS 

Before any intelligent action can be taken against 
the trusts we must have a definition of a trust. Be- 
cause no corporation has an absolute and complete 
monopoly of any important product, the apologists 
for the trusts sometimes insist that there are in reality 
no trusts. Others insist that it is impossible to legis- 
late against such trusts as may exist without doing 
injury to legitimate business. For the purposes of this 
discussion it is sufficient to draw the line at the point 
where competition ceases to be effective and to desig- 
nate as a trust any corporation which controls so much 
of the product of any article that it can fix the terms 
and conditions of sale. 

Legislation which prevents monopoly not only does 
not injure legitimate business, but actually protects 
legitimate business from injury. We are indebted to 
the younger Rockefeller for an illustration which 



THE REAL BRYAN 267 

makes this distinction clear. In defending tha trust sys- 
tem he is quoted as saying that as the American Beauty 
rose cannot be brought to perfection without pinch- 
ing off ninety-nine buds, so that the one-hundredth 
bud can receive the full strength of the bush, so great 
industrial organizations are impossible without the 
elimination of the smaller ones. It is a cruel illus- 
tration but it presents a perfectly accurate picture of 
trust methods. The democratic party champions the 
cause of the ninety-nine enterprises which are men- 
aced; they must not be sacrificed that one great com- 
bination may flourish, and when the subject is un- 
derstood we shall receive the cordial support of hundreds 
of thousands of business men who have themselves felt 
the oppression of the trusts or who, having observed the 
effect of the trusts upon others, realize that their safety 
lies, not in futile attempts at the restraint of trusts, 
but in legislation which will make a private monopoly 
impossible. 

There mmst be no mistaking of the issue and no 
confusing of the line of battle. The trust, as an in- 
stitution, will have few open defenders. The policy 
of the trust defenders will be to insist upon ''reason- 
able regulation" and then they will rely upon their 
power to corrupt legislatures and to intimidate ex- 
ecutives to prevent the application of any remedies 
which will interfere with the trusts. Our motto must 
be: "A private monopoly is indefensible and intol- 
erable," and our plan of attack must contemplate the 
total and complete overthrow of the monopoly prin- 
ciple in industry. We need not quarrel over reme- 



268 THE EEAL BRYAN 

dies. We must show ourselves willing to support any 
remedy and every remedy which promises substantial 
advantage to the people in their warfare against 
monopoly. Something is to be expected from the en- 
forcement of the criminal clause of the Sherman anti- 
trust law, but this law must be enforced not against 
a few trusts as at present, but against all trusts, and 
the aim must be to imprison the guilty, not merely to 
recover a fine. What is a fine of a thousand dollars 
or even ten thousand dollars to a trust which makes a 
hundred thousand dollars while the trial is in prog- 
ress? 

If the criminal clause is not going to be enforced 
it ought to be repealed. If imprisonment is too severe 
a punishment for the eminently respectable gentle- 
men who rob eighty millions of people of hundreds 
of millions of dollars annually, the language of the 
statute ought to be changed, for nothing is more cal- 
culated to breed anarchy than the failure to enforce 
the law against rich criminals while it is rigidly en- 
forced against petty offenders. But it is not sufficient 
to enforce existing laws. If ten corporations conspir- 
ing together in restraint of trade are threatened with 
punishment, all they have to do now is to dissolve 
their separate corporations and turn their property 
over to a new corporation. The new corporation can 
proceed to do the same thing that the separate corpo- 
rations attempted, and yet not violate the law. We 
need, therefore, new legislation and the republican 
party not only fails to enact such legislation, but fails 
even to promise it. The democratic party must be 



THE REAL BRYAN 269 

prepared to propose legislation which will be suffi- 
cient. 

Recent investigations have brought to light the fact 
that nearly all the crookedness revealed in the man- 
agement of our large corporations has been due largely 
to the duplication of directorates. A group of men 
organized or obtained control of several corporations 
doing business with each other and then proceeded 
to swindle the stockholders of the various corpora- 
tions for which they acted. No man can serve two 
masters, and the director who attempts to do so will 
fail, no matter how much money he makes before his 
failure is discovered. Many of the trusts control 
prices by the same methods. The same group of men 
secure control of several competing corporations and 
the management is thus consolidated. It is worth 
while to consider whether a blow may not be struck 
at the trusts by a law making it illegal for the same 
person to act as director or officer of two corporations 
which deal with each other or are engaged in the same 
general business. 

A still more far-reaching remedy was proposed by 
the democratic platform in 1900, namely, the requir- 
ing of corporations to take out a federal license before 
engaging in interstate commerce. This remedy is 
simple, easily applied and comprehensive. The re- 
quiring of a license would not embarrass legitimate 
corporations — it would scarcely inconvenience them — 
while it would confine the predatory corporations to 
the state of their origin. Just as a federal license to 
sell liquor leaves the possessor of the license to sell 



270 THE REAL BRYAN 

only in accordance with the laws of the state in which 
he resides, so a corporate license granted by a federal 
commission would not interfere with the right of each 
state to regulate foreign corporations doing business 
within its borders. 

If corporations were required to take out a federal 
license the federal government could then issue the 
license upon the terms and conditions which would 
protect the public. A corporation differs from a hu- 
man being in that it has no natural rights, and as all 
of its rights are derived from the statutes it can be 
limited or restrained according as the public welfare 
may require. The control which congress has over 
interstate commerce is complete and if congress can 
prevent the transportation of a lottery ticket through 
the mails, by the express companies or by freight, it 
can certainly forbid the use of the mails, the railways 
and the telegraph lines to any corporation which is 
endeavoring to monopolize an article of commerce, 
and no party can long be credited with sincerity if it 
condemns the trusts with words' only and then permits 
the trusts to employ all the instrumentalities of in- 
terstate commerce in the carrying out of their ne- 
farious plans. It is far easier to prevent a monopoly 
than to watch it and punish it, and this prevention 
can be accomplished in a practical way by refusing a 
license to any corporation which controls more than a 
certain proportion of the total product — this propor- 
tion to be arbitrarily fixed at a point which will give 
free operation to competition. [From Madison 
Square Garden, Neiv York, speech, August .30, 1906,'] 



THE REAL BRYAN 271 

The democratic party is opposed to trusts. It would 
be recreant to its duty to the people of the country if 
it recognized either the moral or the legal right of 
these great aggregations of wealth to stifle competi- 
tion, bankrupt rivals and then prey upon society. Cor- 
porations are the creatures of law, and they must not 
be permitted to pass from under the control of the 
power which created them; they are permitted to exist 
upon the theory that they advance the public weal, 
and they must not be allowed to use their powers for 
the public injury. [Letter of acceptance in 1896.] 



Some defend trusts on the ground that they are 
an economic development and that they cannot be 
prevented without great injury to our industrial sys- 
tem. This may be answered in two ways: First, 
trusts are a political development rather than an 
economic one; and, second, the trust system cannot 
be permitted to continue even though it did result in 
a net economic gain. It is political because it rests 
upon the corporation and the corporation rests upon a 
statutory foundation. The trust, instead of being a 
natural development, is a form of legalized larceny, 
and can exist only so long as the law permits it to 
exist. That there is an economic advantage in pro- 
duction on a large scale may be admitted, but because 
a million yards of cloth can be produced in one fac- 
tory at a lower price per yard than one hundred thou- 
sand yards can be produced in the same factory, it 
does not follow that cloth would be produced at a still 



272 THE REAL BRYAN 

lower price per yard if all the cloth consumed in the 
United States were produced in one factory or under 
one management. There is a point beyond which the 
economic advantage of large production ceases. The 
moment an industry approaches the position of a 
monopoly it begins to lose in economic efficiency, for 
a monopoly discourages invention, invites deteriora- 
tion in quality and destroys a most potent factor in 
production, viz. : individual ambition. But the politi- 
cal objections to a trust overcome any economic ad- 
vantage which it can possibly have. No economic 
advantage can justify an industrial despotism or com- 
pensate the nation for the loss of independence among 
its producers. Political liberty could not long endure 
under an industrial system which permitted a few 
powerful magnates to control the means of liveli- 
hood of the rest of the people. [From Madison Square 
Garden, New York, speech, August 30, 1906.] 



And what about trusts? Are they not indefensible 
and intolerable? Ought not the criminal law to be 
enforced against trusts and trust magnates? Should 
not the interstate corporations be compelled to sell to 
all on the same terms? Should not the law prevent 
the duplication of directors among competing corpo- 
rations, and would not the proposed license system put 
an end to private monopoly? The reader will notice 
that this system does not abridge the right of the state 
to create corporations or to regulate, as it will, foreign 
corporations doing business in the state — it is a fed- 



THE REAL BRYAN 273 

eral remedy added to the state remedies. It will also 
be noticed that it does not apply to corporations con- 
trolling less than twenty-five per cent of any product 
in which they deal; it does not interfere with legiti- 
mate corporations doing legitimate business but lays 
its hand upon those who reach out after monopoly, 
and it absolutely prohibits the control of more than 
fifty per cent of the product. If we had such a law 
now, every trust would be broken up. It is a simple 
remedy and yet an effective one and easily enforced. 
The platform points out the distinction between the 
natural man and the artificial person called a corpo- 
ration and favors the enactment of such laws as may 
be necessary to compel foreign corporations to submit 
their local disputes to the courts of the states in which 
they do business. This platform is aimed at the cor- 
porations which drag their litigants into the federal 
courts and wear them out with delays and expense. 
[From editorial in The Commoner, on Nebraska plat- 
form of 1906.1 

PRIVATE MONOPOLY 

A private monopoly has always been an outlaw. 
No defense can be made of an industrial system in 
which one, or a few^, men can control for their ,own 
profit the output or price of any article of merchan- 
dise. Under such a system, the consumer suffers ex- 
tortion; the producer of raw material has but one 
purchaser, and must sell at the arbitrary price fixed; 
the laborer has but one employer, and is powerless to 
protest against injustice, either in wages or in condi- 



274 THE REAL BRYAN 

tions of labor; the small stockholder is at the mercy 
of the speculator; while the traveling salesman con- 
tributes his salary to the overgrown profits of the 
trust. Since but a small proportion of the people can 
share in the advantages secured by private monopoly, 
it follows that the remainder of the people are not 
only excluded from the benefits, but are the helpless 
victims of every monopoly organized. It is difficult 
to overestimate the immediate injustice that may be 
done, or to calculate the ultimate effect of this in- 
justice upon the social and political v/elfare of the 
people. 

Our platform, after suggesting certain specific rem- 
edies, pledges the party to an unceasing warfare 
against private monopoly in nation, state and city. 
I heartily approve of this promise; if elected, it shall 
be my earnest and constant endeavor to fulfill the 
promise in letter and spirit. I shall select an attorney- 
general who will, without fear or favor, enforce ex- 
isting laws; I shall recommend such additional legis- 
lation as may be necessary to dissolve every private 
monopoly which does business outside of the state of 
its origin; and, if, contrary to my belief and hope, a 
constitutional amendment is found to be necessary, I 
shall recommend such an amendment as will, without 
impairing any of the existing rights of the states, em- 
power congress to protect the people of all the states 
from injury at the hands of individuals or corpora- 
tions engaged in interstate commerce. [Letter of 
acceptance, 1900.] 



^efom the (Bconotnic (S^lxxb^ ^ew ^atrR 

The Economic club gave a dinner at Hotel i^tor, 
New York, February 5. There were seven hundred 
guests, among them many New York bankers and 
capitalists. Mr. Bryan w^as one of the speakers. Vic- 
tor Morawetz, Andrew Carnegie and Lyman J, Gage, 
former secretary of the treasury, preceded Mr. Bryan 
on the program. Mr. Baker, who took part in the dia- 
logue, is president of the First National bank of New 
York City. 

The Commoner presents a stenographic report of the 
proceedings beginning with Toastmaster Stetson's in- 
troduction. 

Following is the stenographic report : 

Mr. Stetson : I think that Mr. Gage underestimated 
his power as a pulpit orator, yet I do not think he can 
hold a rushlight in that capacity to the next gentle- 
man, whom I regard as the greatest pulpit orator of 
our day, Mr. Bryan. (Great and continuous applause.) 

Mr. Bryan: Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I have 
had a number of delusions shattered here tonight. I 
had understood that for the last forty-seven years our 
financial affairs had been in the hands of men who pos- 
sessed all the qualities that ]\Ir. Gage has suggested a 
commission should possess. And now to learn from 

275 



276 THE EEAL BRYAN 

excellent American and Scottish authority that we not 
only have the worst system in the world, but worse 
than he, with his fruitful imagination, could imagine, 
what shall I say to my people when I go back home? 
How shall I explain that three conspicuous financiers 
who have given this subject great thought, and who 
know all the intricacies of finance, should be agreed 
upon but one proposition, and that is, that they do not 
know what ought to be done. (Applause and laughter.) 

I am assured by one of them that that is not a fair 
statement. I will withdraw any statement that is con- 
sidered unfair, although it seems to me that after I have 
traveled 1,500 miles to drink in wisdom from authori- 
tative sources it is a breach of promise, at least, (laugh- ' 
ter) not to give me some information. And yet, as each 
one approached the important part of the subject, he 
concluded that we ought to have a commission to con- 
sider the matter. Is it not strange that the commission 
is always resorted to by those who do not care to elabo- 
rate before an election a plan that might not be popular 
at the election? (Great applause.) Is it not strange 
that all of our great financial programs are brought out 
just after the election, when the people cannot sit in 
judgment upon the subject? (Applause.) 

The time allotted to me is not sufficient to answer 
all of the financial fallacies that have been advanced 
tonight. I, the champion of sound money (great 
laughter) have not time to defend the honest dollar 
from the attacks that have been made upon it. 
(Laughter.) And as I listened to those from whom 
I expected some clear specific remedy, I was reminded 



THE REAL BRYAN 277 

of the words of the great apostle, and I do not know 
but I might paraphrase those words and say, ''That 
sound finance which ye ignorantly worship, that come 
I to declare unto you." (Great laughter and applause.) 

When I defend anything that we have in finance, 
you will not accuse me of defending anything with 
which I have had any connection. These greenbacks 
that have been described in uncomplimentary language 
were not issued by me or by my party. (Laughter.) 
But it seems to me that it is straining a point to de- 
nounce the government for issuing 346 millions of 
promises to pay, bearing no interest, when he (Ex- 
Secretary Gage) does not denounce the issue of 700 
millions of bank promises to pay, that bear no interest. 
If a bank's promise to pay, bearing no interest, is fit 
to serve as money, why should not a government's 
promise to pay, bearing no interest, be fit to serve a^ 
money? 

I understand that the subject tonight is the currency 
question as it presents itself at this time, and, therefore, 
it is not necessary to discuss our whole financial sys- 
tem. I do not want to enter into the discussion of a 
subject as large as our financial system. But I remind 
you, that if we follow the suggestion that nothing but 
gold be considered good for reserves, then we will either 
have to stop making deposits in the banks, or increase 
our gold so that we can keep in the banks a reserve 
large enough to protect the banks in the doing of their 
business. (Applause.) We have not the gold in this 
country and we cannot get it without drawing gold 
from countries that need it. If we draw the gold from 



278 THE EEAL BRYAN 

other countries, and discard the use of money that serves 
today in the place of gold, then the effect must be to 
diminisTi prices in foreign countries and lessen their 
ability to trade with us. 

Today we hold in our reserves not only gold, but 
silver and silver certificates and greenbacks. And the 
silver and silver certificates and greenbacks amount to 
946 millions, 600 millions of silver and 346 millions of 
greenbacks. We have about 1,200 millions of gold in 
the country; that is the best estimate that I have been 
able to get. Now if we are going to discard, as has been 
suggested, the use of silver and greenbacks, we must go 
somewhere and get 946 millions of dollars of gold, and 
it will not be an easy matter. How can wo get it? I 
will tell you one w^ay to get it; make the farmer sell 
his foreign export for less, and lay upon him the 
burden of getting the money to substitute for silver and 
the greenback. That may please some, but I am not 
surprised that it is not advanced seriously pending a 
campaign, for it would not please the producing masses 
of this country. (Applause.) 

It is not my business to explain this panic. I have 
not felt as much of it as some of you have. In fact, 
my connection with it has not been embarrassing. 
(Laughter.) And politically my connection with it 
has been anything but embarrassing, for it has at least 
robbed the country of the argument that my party 
w^as the only party under whose administration a panic 
could come. (Great laughter and applause.) 

If I were a financier and my word was good on 
finance, I Tvould say that instead of locating the blame 



THE REAL BRYAN 279 

on too large an issue of paper money, it ought to be 
located on the issue of stocks and bonds that do not 
represent value or even honesty in business. (Great 
j applause.) The gentleman (Ex-Secretary Gage) did 
me the honor to quote something that I said last night. 
I am glad that he quoted; I was afraid it would not 
get into the papers. The fact that he quoted it shows 
that it appeared in print and I am gratified. And, my 
friends, I do not overstate it. In fact, knowing that I 
was where language was carefully examined I was 
especially cautious as to the use of language, and I 
shall not put this government, which bought silver at 
sixty cents and coined it into a dollar, in the same cate- 
gory or company with those who floated the billions 
of dollars of stocks and bonds that represented nothing 
but the expectation that those who issued them would, 
unmolested, reach their hands into the pockets of the 
people and draw from them dividends to which they 
were not entitled. The government did buy silver 
at sixty cents and coin it into a dollar and no man 
who took the dollar ever lost one cent, and that cannot 
be said of the men who took the securities and suffered 
a shrinkage of one-half. So much for the cause of the 
panic. 

But, my friends, the study of causes does not help 
us unless it suggests remedies, and it seems to me it is 
time to suggest remedies. I have heard that elastic 
currency was necessary. I am led to the conclusion to- 
night that we have overestimated the need for elasticity, 
for if we can postpone for a year the getting of that 
elasticity, merely because the campaign is on, the need 



280 THE REAL BRYAN 

is not as urgent as I had been led to think. (Great 
applause and laughter.) I had been losing sleep at 
night (Cries: You don't look like it!), wondering 
how long it would be before we could respond to the 
urgent need for elastic currency. I had been anxious 
that as little time should intervene as possible, and 
have been much disturbed by the failure of our ad- 
visers to agree upon some plan which would at once 
relieve the stringency. We have two bills in congress, 
one known as the Aldrich bill and one known as the 
Fowler bill. The Aldrich bill attempts to provide an 
emergency currency by the issue of bank notes upon 
certain specific securities deposited with the govern- 
ment. The Fowler bill contemplates an entire change 
in our bank currency. It is even more radical than that 
proposed by the Aldrich bill. At present the bank 
notes rest on government bonds and I do not think it 
is so absurd, as Mr. Gage seems to, that the government 
should make its bonds the basis of notes, if we are to 
have bank notes, or that the government should guar- 
antee the notes that rest upon its own bonds. And the 
stringency is not now as great as it would have been if 
there had been doubt as to the ability of the banks 
to redeem their notes. The best feature of the bank 
note is the government guarantee; when men take it, 
.they do not ask whether the bank is a good one, they 
take it because the government is back of it. Here is 
the difficulty about the emergency currency proposed. 
It must either be a bank currency or a government cur- 
rency, and those who want a bank currency seem to 
be so determined that it shall be a bank currency that 



THE REAL BRYAN 281 

they are not willing that the distress shall be relieved 
by a government currency. In other words, the prin- 
ciple involved is to them more than the need to be sup- 
plied. Certainly, the emergency is not great if it can 
be postponed or defeated merely because you have to 
accept a government note instead of a bank note. The 
first thing to be considered is whether this should be a 
government note or a bank note. If I were discussing 
the Aldrich bill, there are several features which I 
would criticise, one of them the use of the railroad 
bond as a security. If I were discussing the Fowler 
bill, there are a number of features of that bill that I 
would criticise. The Aldrich bill proposes a bank note 
resting on various kinds of bonds, and the Fowler bill 
proposes a bank note resting upon no bonds, but upon 
the assets of the banks. I prefer that the emergency 
currency shall be a United States note, and not a bank 
note at all. I am not afraid to trust the United States; 
am not afraid to have its notes issued. And I remind 
those who are fond of bank notes, that when gold and 
silver w^ent to a premium, the banker did not take the 
trouble to go out and find gold and silver. The green- 
back was good enough for him; he redeemed bank 
notes with it. Concede the point that this note shall be a 
government note and it will be easy then to agree upon 
the security upon which it shall be loaned. And, my 
friends, I would not appreciate your courtesy as I do, 
if I did not speak to you frankly. I do not live in 
New York. I am some distance from New York, but 
we in the West have had experience. How many banks 
have suspended in New York? How many in Brook- 



282 THE REAL BRYAN 

lyn? Our experience teaches us that it is better to 
trust the government than to trust the financiers in 
the control of money. If any of you think that propo- 
sition unsound, present the opposite proposition and 
give the voters a chance to express themselves. This is 
a government of eighty millions of people and not a 
government of six thousand bank presidents. No finan- 
cial system can be expected to be permanent in this 
country that does not have back of it the hearty ap- 
proval of the public. AVe are told that this must be 
left to a commission made up of men who will put their 
patriotism above their party. Financiers are not the 
only patriotic men. You can find men in every hamlet 
who put their patriotism above their party. A few 
people cannot settle these things for the rest of the 
people. If you appoint your commission, the bill, when 
it comes in, has to be passed upon by all the people 
through their representatives in congress. Now, if 
you concede the point that the government shall issue 
the money then it becomes a matter of detail. The 
government can meet the need simply and quickly, 
and I believe provision should be made for the issue by 
the government of United States notes, like our green- 
backs in form and in redemption, and that these 
United States notes should be loaned by the govern- 
ment upon sufficient security and at a rate of interest 
which will compel the retirement of the notes when the 
emergency is over. I am not sure but we could com- 
bine the suggestions made in different bills. One sug- 
gests that bonds be deposited, state, county and munici- 
pal bonds, and we have between two and three billions 



THE liEAL BRYAN 283 

of them. They would make a good basis. All the 
government needs is security, if it is going to loan 
the money, and these would make good security. I do 
not think that railway or industrial bonds ought to 
be used for such security. Mr. M. E. Ingalls suggests 
that the country be divided into clearing house dis- 
tricts, enough so that there will be a representation of 
the needs of different communities. He suggests that 
these clearing houses might borrow from the govern- 
ment on collateral other than bonds. I will go further 
than that. If we create a district and authorize the 
clearing house of the district to bind all the banks of 
the district, the government could loan money to it 
without any specific security, for it has back of it all 
the assets of all the banks. And if the loan was limited 
to a certain per cent, say, for instance, to twenty or 
twenty-five per cent of the total capital and surplus 
of the banks, there could be no loss to the government. 
But there is no difliculty about details. If we need 
emergency currency, if elasticity is desired, it is possi- 
ble to provide it without any change in our monetary 
system. Without any innovations at all, it is passible 
to provide all the elasticity for which anybody can show 
a need. And are we asking too much when we insist 
that this shall be in the control of the government and 
not in the hands of individuals? 

What we need, I think, even more than an increase 
in our currency, is confidence. Think of it! (Ap- 
plause.) I am now the evangel of confidence. I am 
now the "advance agent'' of confidence. If we can 
bring money from hiding and hoarding and get it 



284 THE REAL BRYAN 

i the bank8, the banks ^vill have more money to 
in than we can possibly furnish them by any emer- 
ley currency. What we need today is to restore con- 
1 ence to the depositors. John Wanamaker was 
quoted as saying — I cannot rely entirely on what the 
newspapers say — but he was quoted as saying that a 
billion dollars was hidden under carpets. The govern- 
ment only loaned the banks about 250 million dollars 
and if Mr. Wanamaker is right we have four times as 
much in hiding. The postmaster general, in recom- 
mending a postal savings bank, says that we are send- 
ing'out many millions every year to be deposited in gov- 
ernment banks in Europe/ by people who are not w^ill- 
ing to trust our banks. The people of this country are 
being driven to the postal savings bank because they 
need a place to deposit their money where they can 
get it when they want it. Some of you have thought 
me very anxious to enlarge the work of the government. 
I have never insisted that the government should under- 
take any business that ,C' Jd be done satisfactorily by 
the individual. I be .e in individualism; I w^ant 
the individual to have the largest possible sphere of 
action. 

And only where it is impossible for the individual 
to act, or unsafe for the c imunity that he should act, 
have I suggested that the government should act. I 
have believed for yeai's that if the banks did not allow 
the banking ^o be made safe they w^ould drive the 
country to tl postal savings bank. I w^ould rather 
have the T^' ng done by the bankers than by the 
govern: ...... ' \pplause.) I am in favor of the postal 



THE REAL BRYAN 285 

savings bank, but a postal savings bank is only an 
ternative to be selected if we cannot get the secur 
that the people demand. 

And today, the greatest need we have is legislati> 
that will make people feel that when they deposit 
money in the banks they can go and get it whenever 
they want it; the stringency that has spread over this 
country in a night has taught the people the necessity 
for this protection. 

They tell us that the timidity which people have 
manifested is not justified. That is generally true. 
I am not prepared to speak for this community, but 
I am sure that in the West there is no reasonable excuse 
for this timidity. (Laughter.) Our crops have been 
bountiful ; our prices have been good ; our people have 
money; they fill the banks with their money, and 
there was so much that they sent a large part of it down 
her^ to New York to be invested, and they have been 
waiting, waiting, waiting for its return. (Laughter.) 
Our bauKs are good, and yet/.n. ■ friends, when a bank 
suspends payment on checks >. need not be surprised 
if the ultra-timid become alarmed and want to get 
their money out. (Laughter.) If I were a banker I 
would not be proud of a system that had to run rivalry 
with a carpet as a safety d^ osit vault, and have the 
carpet preferred in times of stress. (Laughter.) A man 
does not hide money under a carpet if he can find 
any safer place. (Laughter.) I repeat that what we 
need ioday is to make the bank safe. ^ r may laugh 
down here in New York, but in OklahoL vou call it 
a wild western state — the first thing tl j^^^v.was to 



286 THE REAL BRYAN 

pass a law to guarantee bank deposits. How did they 
do it? They authorized a banking board to collect an 
assessment on the 17th of this month of one per cent 
on the deposits of the banks. I think it is higher than 
necessary; one-half of one per cent would have been 
enough, one-fourth of one per cent would have been 
sufficient, but they said one per cent and they em- 
powered the board to assess at any time and to any ex- 
tent necessary to keep that reserve intact. And thus 
they put behind every bank the assets of all the banks. 
In anticipation of the operation of that law, the bank- 
ers of Kansas petitioned their governor to call a special 
session of the legislature to pass a law like it so as to 
keep the money from being drawn out of Kansas banks 
and deposited in Oklahoma. (Great laughter.) 

And the legislature is now in session. It will enact 
such a law. It has been introduced in Illinois. It has 
been introduced in Ohio, and I had the honor to receive 
an invitation from the republican legislature of Ohio 
to come and address that legislature on a guaranteed 
bank. Possibly, I was invited because some fourteen 
years ago I tried to secure the enactment of such a law 
by congress. We had a failure in our town and many 
poor people suffered the loss of their savings and the 
hardships visited upon our community caused such a 
cry of distress that someone came to me — I wish I could 
remember his name — and suggested a guarantee fund, 
and I introduced in congress a bill that provided for 
the collection of a small tax each year until a guaran- 
tee fund was provided. The bill provided that when a 
bank failed the comptroller should from this fund pay 



THE REAL BRYAN 287 

every depositor immediately, so that there would be 
no interruption of business to the community and no 
loss to the depositor, and then proceed to collect the 
assets of the bank and reimburse the fund as far as the 
assets would go. 

Now that was some thirteen or fourteen years ago. 
What was the objection raised? That if all the banks 
were good, the big banks would not have any advantage 
over the little ones — that the depositors should all be 
unsecured that the big banks might have an advantage 
over the little banks. Where is the patriotism that we 
have been hearing about in our financiers? Do they 
insist upon a system that requires that the depositor 
shall have his interests jeopardized, and that the com- 
munity shall suffer that the big banks may have an 
advantage over the little banks? 

I went out to Nebraska and got that bill introduced 
there. I thought, surely, if we cannot have it in the 
United States we can have it in Nebraska. (Laughter.) 
But when the bill came up there was a lobby of national 
bankers to oppose it. ''Why," they said, ''if state 
banks are safe, people will not deposit in national 
banks." (Laughter.) What is the objection now? 
Mr. Forgan, the head of one of the largest banks in 
Chicago, stated as his objection that it would make all 
banks secure. (Laughter.) AYhat an objection! He 
said that, under such a system, you could just step into 
any bank and deposit your money! That would be 
awful! (Applause.) I ask you this question, my 
friends, must we leave the depositor helpless? Must 
we leave the community helpless rather than have all 



288 THE REAL BRYAN 

banks secure? What is more important than the se- 
curity of the depositor? Why not look at this question 
once from the standpoint of eighty millions of people 
who have lost hundreds of millions of dollars in this 
particular crisis that they never can get back? Is that 
not sufficient reason for a different plan, or shall we sit 
back and say, ''No, it would not do to make all banks 
secure, for then the big banks would not have any ad- 
vantage over the little banks." The big bank will still 
have an advantage over the little bank. It does not 
need to rest upon the insecurity of all. The fact that 
it has a large capital and surplus enables it to loan more 
to one individual than the small banks can. A bank 
can only loan one-tenth of its capital and surplus to 
one person, and a bank that has ten times the capital 
and surplus of another can accommodate the man who 
wants to borrow large sums. Isn't that an advantage? 
And then there is another advantage. It has an ad- 
vantage resting upon vanity. People like to do busi- 
ness with the big banks; they like to go in and have 
the president of the biggest bank bow to them and 
smile. (Laughter.) Isn't that some advantage? 
Wouldn't that remain, even when all banks were safe? 
What is the other objection? They say that, if all 
the banks are secure and the depositor cannot lose, 
the banks will be recklessly managed. I am glad that 
that argument is made now, when we have seen the ex- 
treme care that is exercised under present conditions. 
(Laughter and applause.) My good friend here, Chair- 
man Stetson, suggested that a difference as large as an 
ocean separated him from some of the speakers, and I 



THE REAL BRYAN 289 

thought I could notice a slight inclination of the head 
in my direction. (Laughter.) I wonder if there can 
be a large gulf between us on this subject. The man- 
ager becomes careless ! Why, my friends, the officers 
of the bank are selected by the directors and the direc- 
tors are chosen by the stockholders, and the stock- 
holders would lose all of their capital, all their sur- 
plus and then they would have to respond to the 100 
per cent liability before any other bank could lose any- 
thing; wouldn't that be enough to make the officers 
careful? If that isn't enough, suppose we try the crim- 
inal law and see if that will make them careful. What 
has been the difficulty with our banks? Our finan- 
ciers will tell you that the banks that have failed have 
failed in almost every instance because the officers of 
the bank have violated their trust and used the money 
of other people to advance their own private interests ! 
Isn't that true, Mr. Gage? 

Mr. Gage: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Bryan: Isn't that true, Mr. Baker? 

Mr. Baker: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Bryan: Why hasn't it been remedied? Be- 
cause the managers of the bad banks don't want to be 
restrained and the good bank isn't anxious to have the 
other ones restrained, because the good bank can point 
to the recklessness of the others and draw away de- 
posits. 

I am not supposed to know anything about bank- 
ing, and yet these distinguished men, who have shed 
lustre on the banking business, admit that I have put 
my finger upon the sore place in the banking system. 



290 THE REAL BRYAN 

Now when we make all the banks responsible for each 
bank then they will be interested in effective regula- 
tion. We will find them favoring legislation that will 
protect the public from a misappropriation of funds. 
We have been asking for this regulation all the time. 
I introduced a bill in congress to increase the penalty 
for embezzlement where the amount was large; I sup- 
posed that I would have unanimous support. I sup- 
posed that the stockholders would be glad to hold over 
their officers the danger of a longer penal term if they 
were dishonest and took money, but I could not get 
that through. (Laughter.) 

I welcome the prospect of guaranteed banks because 
I think it will enable us to get some regulation that we 
need. For instance, I think it might help us to pass 
a law to make more than directory the rule that a bank 
shall not loan more than one-tenth of its capital and 
surplus to one person. A man testified in the case of 
a Chicago banker last summer that that law was merely 
directory; that if an examiner found that a bank was 
loaning more than ten per cent to one man, the de* 
partment would send him a formal letter calling his 
attention to it, and theh if he did not correct it by the 
next examination, he might expect to be forcibly re- 
minded by another courteous letter. Is that good bank- 
ing? Is that safe and sound finance? If one-tenth 
of the capital and the surplus is all that ought to be 
loaned under our present system, if it is the judgment 
of those who make the law that the loan shall not exceed 
that, then I insist that we ought to make a criminal 
law, to compel the officers to do that which they were 



THE REAL BRYAN 291 

directed to do by the authorities. (Applause.) 
Wouldn't that be a good law, Mr. Gage? 

Mr. Gage : Yes, sir. 

Mr. Bryan: Would not that be a good law, Mr. 
Baker? 

Mr. Baker: Yes, sir. 

Mr. Bryan: My friends, if I keep on I will be in 
standing after a while. (Laughter and applause.) 
Now I think there is another thing that we ought to 
have. I think more of the reserve ought to be kept in 
the bank and less loaned. Isn't that right? 

Voices: Right again. (Laughter and applause.) 

If more of the reserve is kept in the bank, the bank 
can be allowed to keep a part of it in bonds upon 
which emergency notes can be borrowed from the gov- 
ernment. It was the deposit of western and southern 
reserves in New York that caused the stringency to 
spread throughout the country. Now, 1 want to remind 
you that for forty-seven years our laws have been made 
by financiers, and yet we reach the condition which 
confronts us today, and eminent b-ankers admit here in 
your presence, that I, a farmer from Nebraska, can sug- 
gest changes that your financiers did not think of, or 
at least, did not put into law. (Laughter.) Why? 

A Voice: You ought to be right part of the time. 
(Laughter.) 

Mr. Bryan : Thanks, it is a concession that I appre- 
ciate, and I wish I could return the compliment by 
saying that our financiers have been right even part 
of the time. (Great applause and laughter.) 

Now there is another safeguard. I would like to see 



292 THE REAL BRYAN 

a law that would make it a criminal offense for any 
bank official to become a gambler upon the stock mar- 
ket. Don't wait until he has lost or committed suicide, 
but make it criminal to begin. Save the man's life, and 
his honor and his family by protecting him from the 
temptation. 

I read, a few years ago, that a bank official found 
that the market had gone against him and shot himself ; 
and another official who wa^ associated with him in 
the bank came in and found him dead, and knowing 
that he had shared in the dead man's speculation he 
shot himself and fell dead across the body of the other 
man. 

In Iowa, not long ago, I was told that within a 
radius of, I think it was one hundred miles, ten bankers 
had committed suicide as the result of speculation. It 
would be a mercy to these men to protect them from 
this temptation. The man who ha^ in his keeping the 
money of others ought to be protected, as far as the law 
can protect him, from the temptation to gamble. Am 
I not right? 

Voices : You are ; you are. 

Mr. Bryan: Again I am right. (Applause.) 

Now I am afraid that I have talked over my time. 
(Cries of ''go on, go on.") When you say ''go on, go 
on," I am reminded of a fellow down in Kentucky 
w^ho was making a speech. He had to leave on a cer- 
tain train. When he saw the time was near for his 
train to depart, he said: "My train will go in a mo- 
ment now," and they said, "go on, go on." And he 
talked until his train had gone. Finally he stopped and 



THE REAL BRYAN 293 

said: ^'Yoii see, gentlemen, that I have been per- 
suaded by your entreaties to miss my train." They 
said, ''Why, we told you to go on." (Laughter and 
applause.) I am not sure just what you may mean 
by "go on." (Laughter.) 

Now I have said what I have upon this question be- 
cause I believe it should be presented. It is not neces- 
sary to wait until the election is over to find out what 
ought to be done. Take a plan that appeals to the 
common sense of the average man and you need not 
be afraid to present it before election. The people of 
this country are the most intelligent people in the 
world. They want to do what is right. Some of you 
misunderstand our people. (Laughter.) You think 
w^e are anarchists. You think we want to injure the 
country. I think I am a fair representative of the 
average man out in the West, at least I have been able 
to keep in touch with him in spite of all the news- 
papers. He and I get along pretty well together. Why? 
Because I have tried to appeal to the hearts and con- 
sciences and judgment of these men. You have said 
that we are arraying class against class. It is false. 

You have accused us of disregarding property 
rights. That is not true. The man who defends hu- 
man rights is the best defender of property rights. 
(Applause.) The man who prosecutes the wrong- 
doer is the best friend of honesty. (Applause.) And 
all that we have asked is that you view this great ques- 
tion from the bottom and not from the top. 

There is a theory that God selected a few men and 
endowed them with greater wisdom and fitness, and 



294 THE REAL BRYAN 

then put the country in their hands. That used to 
be the theory. First, it was the "king who could do 
no wrong; then it was the aristocracy that ruled; now 
it is the democracy. 

These men, whose deposits make your banking 
profits; these men whose deposits are the basis of your 
fortunes — these men ought to be considered — not only 
their interests but their opinions. . You like to per- 
suade a man that the bank is a good place to deposit 
his money, and if his judgment is good when you are 
trying to persuade him to deposit his money in your 
bank, trust his judgment a little when he wants to 
regulate the methods to be employed by those who 
have charge of his money. (Applause.) We will 
have to meet this issue sometime, and we may as well 
do so frankly and boldly now. If our finances had 
been conducted as they ought to have been, there 
would have been no stringency now. If you tell me 
that you need an elastic currency, I will take your 
word for it, but if you tell me that you object to it 
unless you can hold both ends of the elastic, I will 
tell you that you do not need it as much as you 
thought you did. Trust the government, the repre- 
sentatives elected by the people/ These men, acting 
in the open and responsible to their constituents, are 
more trustworthy than those who act behind closed 
doors, and are responsible to no one but themselves. 
I think you will have to consider the opinions of the 
voters on this question, whether you try to settle it 
now or by a commission selected for the purpose of 
preparing a bill that you would not present before the 



THE REAL BRYAN 295 

election. It must come before the people and you 
might as well take them into your confidence first as 
last. 

If you want this elastic currency let the govern- 
ment issue it and control it, and you will have no 
difl[iculty about the security. Then lay upon the 
banks the responsibility for making the banks safe. 
If the banks say that they do not want to be held re- 
sponsible for other banks, my answer is that if your 
bankers will not trust each other, they should not ex- 
pect the people to trust them with their money. (Ap- 
plause.) 

The slight tax that this plan contemplates would be 
more than compensated for by the money drawn 
from hiding that you could then loan out and on 
which you could charge interest. This is a system 
that protects the depositor, protects the community, 
and gives the banks a large advantage at a small price. 

I thank you for this opportunity to speak to you; 
it is the first I have had. I have been talking for 
many years, and this is the most respectable crowd 
that I have ever talked to in my life — (laughter and 
applause) — that is, measured by New York standards. 
(Laughter.) It is no more respectable, however, than 
the people among whom I live! The man who toils 
by the day, who goes out in the morning and works 
all day, who commences in the spring and works all 
summer, though his hand be hard from work, and his 
clothing not of the latest cut — he is a respectable man, 
and I have been addressing respectable audiences all 



296 THE REAL BRYAN 

over the country, but this is the most highly financial 
audience that I have yet addressed. (Applause.) 

And if I have exceeded my time limit and spoken 
with an earnestness for which I should apologize, just 
remember how long I have waited for the opportunity, 
and remember also that I may never have it again. 
(Prolonged applause.) 



''^ijoxx gljalt Slot gtmr' 

The commandment ''Thou shalt not steal" presents 
as clearly as it can be presented a moral truth that 
may be classed among the self-evident truths. The 
greatest service that one can render a truth is to state 
it so plainly that it can be understood. I do not mean 
that any truth can be stated so plainly that it will not 
be denied by those who find it to their interest to deny 
it. I believe that it was Lord Macaulay who said that 
eloquent and learned men could be found to dispute 
the law of gravitation if any pecuniary advantage were 
to be gained by it. What I mean to say is, that a 
truth can be stated so plainly that those who desire 
to see it, can see it, and that when it is seen, it needs 
no defense. If, for instance, you may say to a man 
that it is wrong to steal and he replies: "Oh, I don't 
know about that," don't argue with him, search him, 
and you will probably find the reason in his pocket. 

I have not selected this subject with any intention 
of presenting an argument against stealing. I am 
going to assume that those who listen to me agree 
that the commandment should be obeyed. It is my 
purpose rather to make some applications of the com- 
mandment to present conditions, for I am satisfied 
that many are guilty without really being conscious 

297 



298 THE REAL BRYAN 

of disobedience to the commandment or of committing 
a wrong. 

To steal or to commit larceny may be defined as 
the wrongful taking of another's property. Law writ- 
ers have divided larceny into two classes — petit larceny 
and grand larceny — the former term being used 
when the property stolen is of little value and the 
latter when the value is greater. There is a tendency 
in modern times to divide grand larceny into two 
classes, so that now we are inclined to think of larceny 
as petit larceny, grand larceny and glorious larceny. 
By glorious larceny I do not refer to the policy which 
nations have indulged in of taking the property of 
other nations by force — an act that is sometimes de- 
scribed as not only innocent but even patriotic; I 
refer rather to that tendency, quite discernible at the 
present day, to regard stealing upon a large scale as 
less reprehensible than stealing upon a small scale. If 
a man picks your pocket, or enters your house in the 
dark, or accosts you upon the highway and takes from 
you a few dollars, you regard him as a vulgar thief. 
No one can have respect for such a person, and the 
punishments of the law are in such cases swift and 
sure, if the offender is caught. Even in the case of 
grand larceny, if the amount taken is not very great, 
the thief finds it difficult to escape, for he has no 
influential friends and he cannot hire skillful lawyers 
to present technicalities in his defense. If, however, 
he steals a large sum, it becomes quite a different mat* 
ter, and the sum may be so large that we overlook 
the man's rascality in our amazement at the genius 



THE REAL BRYAN 299 

which he has displayed. As a rule, the man who 
steals a million dollars has a better chance of escape 
than the man who steals a thousand. So true is this 
tnat it has been suggested that we amend the com- 
mandment to read, 'Thou shalt not steal upon a small 
i>cale/' Judge Jerry Black, the celebrated Pennsyl- 
vania lawyer, in his argument in the Credit Mobilier 
case, quoted a man of affairs as saying that to rob an 
individual was criminal, to rob a corporation was rep- 
rehensible, to rob a municipality was a matter of 
doubtful morality, to rob a state was meritorious — ^but 
to rob the United States was the highest achievement 
of human virtue. We should attempt to cultivate a 
public opinion which will remove the distinction 
between grand larceny and glorious larceny and insure 
the enforcement of the criminal law against all 
offenders alike, regardless of the amount stolen and 
regardless of the social, business or political position 
of the thief. 

But my object tonight is rather to draw your atten- 
tion to the various ways in which larceny may be 
committed. There is a distinction that can be drawn 
between direct and indirect larceny; that is, between 
the one who does the stealing himself and the one 
who does it through another, and this is a larger sub- 
ject than at first appears, for those who produce con- 
ditions which result in such gross injustice that the 
victims of the injustice are driven to destitution, to 
despair, to desperation, and finally to theft — those 
who produce these conditions are not entirely guilt- 
less. But the discussion of this subject will lead us 



300 THE REAL BRYAN 

into sociology, and I want to confine myself to crim- 
inolog}\ 

For the purposes of this disciis^sion, let us divide 
larceny into two classes — larceny in violation of the 
law and larceny through the operation of law. While 
both branches of the swbject are important, the sec- 
ond branch is the larger and the less considered. I 
think I am within the truth when I say that, meas- 
ured by the value of the property taken, stealing 
through the operation of law% if not so frequent, reaches 
a larger aggregate than stealing in violation of the 
law. But the stealing which is done in violation of 
law is enormous and the methods employed many. 
Take for illustration the administration of our tax 
laws. Let us suppose that the law is made by w^ell- 
moaning legislators, and in its requirements approaches 
justice as closely as fallible man can approach justice. 
The assessor is sometimes corrupted — not always by 
money, but more often by influence. That is, the per- 
son favored does not always pay the assessor a fixed 
sum, but helps to elect him or re-elect him, and thus 
becomes responsible for the continuation of his salary. 

Inequality in taxation is merely a form of larceny. 
If two men live side by side and one contributes in 
taxation ten dollars when his just share is only five 
dollars, and the other pays only five when he ought 
to pay ten, one loses five dollars that he ought to 
keep, while the other keeps five dollars that he ought 
to give to the government. The effect in this case is 
just the same as if one man took the other man^s 
property and applied it to his own use. The fact 



THE REAL BRYAN 301 

that the government, acting as a collector, took the 
five dollars from the man who ls overburdened and 
gave it to the man who is underburdened does not 
change the character of the transaction. 

If inequality in taxation is due to the act of an 
assessor who, at the solicitation of a property owner, 
under-assesses him, then the assesvsor and the man 
favored are guilty of the wrongful taking of the prop- 
erty of another. If we examine the assessment books 
in any city w^e will find many instances such as that 
above mentioned. One piece of property will be 
assessed at half its value, another piece of property at 
a third of its value, and still another at a fourth of 
its value, and where there is this difference in the 
basis of assessment, the discrimination is usually in 
favor of the large property holder who is able to exert 
an influence upon the assessor to bias him in favor 
of an undervaluation. 

Not only is the large business block often favored 
at the expense of the small home, but the property 
of big corporations is often favored at the expense of 
individual holders. Take, for instance, a street car 
company, a water plant or a gas plant. On the stock 
market these franchise-holding corporations never for- 
get to count in the value of the franchise, and this 
intangible asset is sometimes as valuable as the physi- 
cal properties owned by the corporation. Taxes are 
generally estimated on the basis of physical property, 
while the dividends are paid upon the face value of 
the stocks and bonds. It seems strange that a corpo- 
ration which receives a valuable franchise from the 



302 THE REAL BRYAN 

public as a gift should refuse to pay taxes in propor- 
tion to the market value of its stocks and bonds, and 
yet, there is scarcely a city or state in which the pub- 
lic is not in a constant struggle to compel franchise- 
holding corporations to pay their share of the taxes, 
and even then the basis upon which they pay is 
notoriously lower than the basis upon which the indi- 
vidual property owner, especially the small property 
owner, pays. 

If a certain sum is to be collected in taxes and some 
pay less than they should, the others must pay more 
than their share. Is it not worth while to insist that 
both the under-assessed citizen and the unscrupulous 
official shall obey the commandment, ''Thou shalt not 
steal?" 

I need not waste time on the tax dodger or the 
smuggler, for those who, by concealment, deliberately 
deceive the assessor or collector are as guilty of larceny 
as if they boldly took the property of others. 

But what if the fault is in the law itself? What 
shall we say if those who make the law, write it with 
the intention of overburdening some and releasing 
others from just obligations? Time does not permit 
an extended discussion of the various systems of taxa- 
tion. If we were discussing the question of taxation 
in a fundamental way, we would have to consider 
the claims of all systems, existing and proposed, but 
I am not now considering new systems, but rather 
the injustice connected with the systems in operation. 
In local taxation we are constantly confronted with 
the question, ''Shall personal property be taxed?" and 



THE REAL BRYAN 303 

there are many who argue that because personal prop- 
erty is difficult to locate, it should be exempt. This 
argument is based upon the theory that it is better 
not to attempt to collect a tax upon personal prop- 
erty than to make un unsuccessful attempt. While 
I recognize that it is easier to collect taxes on visible 
than on invisible property, I am convinced that the 
owners of visible property should not pay their own 
taxes, and, in addition thereto, the taxes that ought to 
be paid by the owners of invisible property. The 
farmer, for instance, has his money invested in lands, 
in improvements and in stock. All of these can be 
found and their value estimated. If in the cities there 
are people of great Avealth who, instead of owning lands 
and buildings and cattle and hogs, own money, and 
notes, and bonds, is it fair that the owners of money 
and securities shall be exempt from taxation? The 
man who loans usually requires security — not only 
security but a margin to cover possible shrinkage in 
the value of the property upon which the security 
rests; that is, the man who owes him must suffer a 
considerable loss before the creditor suffers any. Is 
it fair that the man who thus must take his chances 
upon the seasons and run the risks of business, should 
also pay the taxes of the one who is able to protect 
himself from ordinary risks and chances? If the law 
is made by those who escape taxation, are they not 
taking the property of others in violation of morals, 
even when they act in accordance with the laws which 
they have secured? 

The government is a mighty power for good or for 



304 THE REAL BRYAN 

evil, for justice or for injustice, and when the gov- 
ernment itself can be manipulated for the enforce- 
ment of a law which rests upon injustice, great harm 
can be done. Is it stretching the definition of larceny 
to make it cover the wrongful taking of a man's 
property through unjust legislation? I might hesi- 
tate to use such strong language were it not for the 
fact that the Supreme Court of the United States has 
used just such language in what is known as the 
Topeka (Kansas) case. Justice Miller, in delivering 
the opinion of the court, said, ''To lay with one hand 
the power of the government on the property of the 
citizen and with the other to bestow it upon favored 
individuals to aid private enterprises and build up 
private fortunes is none the less a robbery because it 
is done under the forms of law and is called taxation.'' 

^'Robbery" is even a stronger word than larceny, 
but I am so conservative in my language that I prefer 
to use the more polite phrase and leave the harsher 
term to our court of last resort. 

In national taxation Tve have not made as near an 
approach to justice as we have in state and municipal 
taxation. In national taxation we collect almost all 
of our revenues for the support of the federal govern- 
ment from internal revenue taxes and from import 
duties. These taxes rest upon consumption and are 
collected in proportion to consumption. We tax peo- 
ple according to their needs rather than according to 
their possessions, and men's needs are more uniform 
than their possessions. Men do not use tobacco, con- 
sume liquor, buy food or wear clothing in proportion 



THE REAL BRYAN 305 

to their wealth or in proportion to their income, and 
taxes upon consumption always overburden the poor 
and underburden the rich. When the income tax 
was under discussion it was insisted that it collected 
a tribute from thrift and industry, but are not all 
taxes income taxes? They must be paid out of the 
income, even though they are not proportioned to the 
income. Taxes upon consumption are therefore in- 
come taxes; they are more than that, they are grad- 
uated taxes upon income, and the heaviest per cent 
falls upon the lowest income. Adam Smith has laid 
it down as a rule that people ought to pay taxes in 
proportion to the benefits which they receive from 
their government, and those who look to the govern- 
ment for the protection of large possessions ought to 
be willing to pay in proportion to the protection w^hich 
they receive. Our police officers, our fire departments, 
our courts, our armies and our navies are supported 
more for the protection of property than for the pro- 
tection of life, and it is only fair that taxation should, 
as far as possible, take into consideration the benefits 
given in return. 

I am aware that it is not possible to devise any 
system of taxation which will be perfectly fair and 
absolutely equitable, but I am afraid that we have 
not always made justice and fairness the first con- 
sideration. The income tax has been opposed by men 
who w^ould have their taxes increased and by men 
whose taxes ought to be increased, and I have had a 
suspicion that our import duties have in some cases 
been levied for the purpose of giving some industries 



306 THE REAL BRYAN 

an advantage over other industries — to give a few of 
the people a profit at the expense of the rest of the 
people. The reason why unjust taxation continues is 
that those who receive in large quantities exert an 
undue influence upon legislators, while those who 
pay, each a small amount, are too often indifferent to 
the exactions. 

The contest between the tax payer on the one side 
and the tax eater on the other is always an unequal 
contest, because the tax eater is vigilant and ever pres- 
ent, while the tax payer is at home trying to make 
enough to meet the next assessment. For this rea- 
son appropriations grow apace and vmjust systems of 
taxation find eloquent defense from orators and news- 
papers. If I were to attempt to enter into detail, I 
might run counter to the preconceived notions of 
many in this audience, but I venture to call your atten- 
tion to the subject in the hope that as conscientious 
men and women you will study the question of taxa- 
tion with the determination to eliminate the element 
of larceny wherever it appears and put taxation upon 
a just foundation, so that each citizen will contribute 
his fair share to the burdens of the government under 
whose protection we all live. 

And now, if you will bear with me a moment, I 
will take up another subject which illustrates how 
larceny can be practiced by law. A change in the 
monetary standard of a country affords an opportunity 
for the wrongful taking of property. A few years 
ago the debtor class in this country was complaining 
because of a rising dollar; during the last few years 



THE REAL BRYAN 307 

the creditor class has heen complaining of a falling 
dollar. That is, from 1873 to 1897 the general level 
of prices fell, and, roughly speaking, a dollar would 
buy more and more each year. From 1897 up to a 
few months ago prices have been rising and a dollar 
would buy less and less each year. Now, there can 
be no doubt that falling prices help the man who 
owns the dollars, while rising prices help the man 
who owes dollars. I do not know that it is necessary 
to elaborate upon this, because the quantitive theory 
of money is now generally accepted, and the quanti- 
tive theory of money is stated in the proposition that, 
other factors remaining the same, the purchasing power 
of a dollar decreases as the number of dollars increases, 
or, to state it in a different way, prices rise when the 
volume of money increases. When the general level 
of prices rises or falls, all business is adjusted to it, 
but some things more slowly than others. There are 
certain fixed charges, such as the expenses of govern- 
ment, which do not respond quickly to a change in 
the level of prices. Take for instance debts, railroad 
rates and official salaries. When prices were falling 
the dollars called for by a note or bond increased in. 
purchasing power, and the one who collected the dol- 
lars, collected this increase, his principal rising in fact, 
though not m figures. The interest itself increased, 
for, while the rate remained the same, the purchasing 
power of the annual interest grew. And so also, with 
railroad rates. A fixed rate per ton or a passenger rate 
of three cents per mile became more and more to the 
railroad and cost more and more to the shipper or 



308 THE REAL BRYAN 

traveler. In like manner official salaries, though not 
increased in amount, became heavier upon those who, 
through taxation, paid the salaries. Since prices have 
been rising the reverse has been true, and the fixed 
charges in the way of debt, interest, rates and salaries 
have been more easily paid. If a change in the vol- 
ume of the money is made deliberately and inten- 
tionally, those who make it are morally responsible 
for the injustice done, and they must be prepared to 
show that, all things considered, the change secures a 
larger measure of justice, or a nearer approximation 
to justice. 

I have not mentioned the subject for the purpose 
of criticising those who have endeavored to enlarge the 
volume of currency, or those who have endeavored to 
contract it; I have referred to the matter merely to 
show that through monetary legislation it is possi- 
ble to take money from one man and give it to an- 
other, and it follows that unless this legislation is based 
upon sound arguments and the laws made in the inter- 
est of justice, the taking may not only be wrongful 
but the injury very great. 

The ideal monetary system would be one in which 
the purchasing power of the dollar remained the same 
yesterday, today and forever. Then business could be 
done upon a level plain, and no one would secure that 
legislative advantage which, whether it be great or 
small, is necessarily attendant upon a change in the 
average purchasing power of the dollar. In 1896 bi- 
metallists contended that an enlargement of the vol- 
ume of the currency was necessary to protect society 



THE REAL BRYAN 809 

from the effect of falling prices, an effect recognized 
by all civilized countries in the various international 
conferences that were held. It was admitted that in 
the restoration of bimetallism there would be instances 
of individual injustice, but it was contended that the 
restoration of a just level of prices would, on the whole, 
promote justice. Those who at that time defended 
falling prices and complained of bimetallism are today 
using the arguments of bimetallists and pointing out 
the fact that the dollar which rises in value, like a 
dollar which falls in value, brings injustice to some. 

Surely in the consideration of so great a subject as 
that of money, care should be exercised to reduce to 
the minimum the injustice done and to increase to 
the maximum the stability of the dollar as a measure 
of the value of all other property. 

The subject of private monopoly furnishes us an- 
other illustration of larceny, and here it is not petit 
larceny nor even grand larceny; it rises to the pro- 
portions of a glorious larency, not only because of the 
amount taken, but because of the respectability of 
those who receive the stolen goods. The object of 
a private monopoly is to control the price of the 
thiUj^ sold; it is to corner the market. The theory is 
that man's necessities require him to buy certain things 
which sustain his life and add to his comfort. Where 
there is competition the sellers bid against each other 
and the purchaser is able to secure what he needs at 
a price which is approximately fair. If, however, all 
of the vendors can be brought together in a combina- 
tion, so that all purchasers must buy of the same vend- 



310 THE REAL BRYAN 

or, competition is eliminated and the man who fixes 
the price, fixes it arbitrarily; and we know enough 
of human nature to know that he is apt to charge 
all that the traffic will bear. To illustrate this point, 
let us suppose a city in the midst of a desert whose peo- 
ple derive their water supply from a single spring. All 
must have water, and they must have it no matter at 
what cost. If the one spring to which they all must go 
is owned by an individual and he is permitted to charge 
what he will for water, he is sure to prosper as long as 
there is any money in the city. This is an imag- 
inary case. It cannot be real, because tlie instinct of 
self-preservation is so strong that people would not 
permit the water supply of a city to be in the hands 
of one man with no regulation as to the price to be 
charged. In the cities which permit private corpora- 
tions to control the water plants there is always pro- 
vision for regulation of the price. I need only pre- 
sent the case of a real monopoly to show how intoler- 
able it is. A monopoly is as abhorrent to the public 
as a vacuum is to nature, and yet, we have allowed 
monopolies to grow up in this country which do far 
more injustice, and reap a larger profit from the injus- 
tice, than the owner of the spring would in the sup- 
posed city in the desert and these monopolies are 
tolerated only because the people are less informed 
about their methods and their influence. 

I insist that the commandment 'Thou shalt not 
steal" applies as much to the monopolist as to the high- 
wayman, and we shall not make any national prog- 
ress in the protection of the people from private monop- 



THE REAL BRYAN 311 

olies until we are prepared to obliterate the line that 
society has drawn between the ordinary thief and the 
larger criminal who holds np society and plunders 
the public through the instrumentality of private mo- 
nopoly. The man who stands by the wayside and, 
holding a revolver to your head, demands your money 
or your life is no more a criminal, measured by every 
moral standard, than the man who, obtaining control 
of a nation's fuel, collects a tribute from every house- 
holder, offering him the alternative of payment or 
suffering from lack of fire. I have mentioned a monop- 
oly in fuel, but a monopoly in light, in food or in any 
other necessary of life is just as repugnant to the moral 
sense. It is entirely possible that very many of those 
who enjoy the benefits of monopoly — some as mana- 
gers, some as directors and some merely as stockholders 
— are unconscious of the principle involved — uncon- 
scious of the moral character of their conduct, but 
surely this is an opportune time to impress upon the 
conscience of the nation the real moral character of 
the conduct of the monopolist. 

And it is not sufficient that we shall appeal to the 
conscience of the monopolist alone. If a highwayman 
were to engage a lawyer to follow a few rods behind 
him with a horse that he might have a ready means 
of escape after having committed an act of robbery, 
we would call the lawyer a party to the crime and we 
would visit upon him the same punishment visited 
upon the principal in the robbery, and so if some- 
one living near the spot where the robbery was com- 
mitted furnished the robber with a change of clothing 



312 THE REAL BRYAN 

or, in return for a part of the booty, conspired with 
him to conceal the booty until suspicion was past, 
such a one could not escape legal responsibility for the 
crime ; and yet, it is considered quite respectable today 
for the legal representatives of predatory wealth to 
visit state capitals and national capitals and prevent 
the enactment of laws intended to protect the public 
from private monopolies; and it is even more respect- 
able for the salaried attorneys of these monopolies to 
follow close after the offenders and furnish them 
horses in the way of legal technicalities upon which to 
escape from punishment. And some of our metropol- 
itan papers are in the same class with the unscrupu- 
lous lawyer. Is it not time to raise the moral standard 
and to insist that our laws shall be made for the 
enforcement of human rights and not for the pro- 
tection of those who violate these rights? Shall we 
continue to be horrified at housebreaking and the 
picking of one's pocket and yet view complacently 
and without concern these million-dollar raids upon 
the earnings of the entire population? Surely we 
are justified in applying to the trust question the com- 
mandment "Thou shalt not steal." 

And will I be entering upon forbidden ground if 
I question the moral character of those financial trans- 
actions which have resulted in the issuing of watered 
stock and fictitious capitalization? The individual 
cannot circulate his note unless the purchaser believes 
that he has back of it sufficient property to insure the 
payment of the note, but there is a presumption in 
favor of stock issued by a corporation. People assume 



THE REAL BRYAN 313 

that industrial stocks represent their face value. If 
a company is formed with a capital of a hundred mil- 
lions, the investors assume that that much money 
has been invested in plants and in the business, and 
dividends are expected upon that basis, but this sup- 
position has been abused and the people have been 
imposed upon. All sorts of devices have been em- 
ployed to give to the stock the appearance of genuine- 
ness. Eminent financiers underwrite the bonds issued 
by the corporation, or subscribe for large blocks of 
stock and thus lend their names to the schemes for 
the exploitation of the public. A few years ago it 
was found that one of the high officials in a promi- 
nent New York bank was connected with a company 
which was inflating the value of certain stocks by 
what is known as washed sales; that is, by the selling 
and re-selling of stock among a group of men for the 
deception of the public, and when the matter was 
made public, the bank official seemed unconscious of 
the moral turpitude involved in the transaction. Stock 
which does not represent money invested cannot be 
raised to its face value by honest or legitimate means, 
and those who palm off spurious securities upon the 
market may make more money by such transactions, 
but they show no more conscience in their transactions 
than the horsetrader who doctors up a worthless animal 
and by concealing his defects sells him to some unwary 
purchaser. I hope I shall not be thought guilty of 
impropriety in suggesting that the commandments 
which are binding upon the rest of the world ought 
not to be suspended in the region of Wall street. If 



314 THE EEAL BRYAN 

we were able to make an exact calculation of the 
amount of money taken from an unsuspecting public 
each year by the issue of stocks and bonds known to 
be worth less than the amount for which they are 
sold, we would probably find that the total amount 
of money stolen in this way is larger than the amount 
stolen in a single year by all of the criminals who 
have been sent to the penitentiary during the year 
for petit or grand larceny. 

Even in the fixing of rates (not to speak of dis- 
criminations and rebates) railroads and franchise- 
holding corporations may be guilty of an extortion 
bordering on theft. These quasi public corporations 
are under obligations to furnish an adequate service at 
a reasonable rate and anything in excess of a reason- 
able rate is simply so much taken without right from 
those who are the victims of the extortion. 

And now, at the risk of being accused of sacrilege, 
I venture to introduce to the stock exchange the com- 
mandment which we have been considering. I am 
aware that here in New York the stock exchange is 
regarded with a certain amount of veneration and 
that many who vehemently denounce gambling in a 
back room where winnings and losses are small, remain 
strangely silent in the presence of the enormous games 
that are played upon the stock market, often with 
loaded dice. Gambling is one of the worst of vices, 
and gambling in stocks and in farm products is the 
most destructive form in which the vice appears. 
Measured by the number of suicides caused by the 
New York Stock Exchange, Monte Carlo is an in- 



THE REAL BRYAN 315 

nocent pleasure resort by comparison. Measured by 
the amount of money changing hands, the contrast is 
still greater in favor of Monte Carlo; and measured 
■by the influence upon those who do not gamble, the 
evils of Monte Carlo are insignificant when compared 
with the evils of New York's commercial gambling 
houses. The New York Stock Exchange has grad- 
uated more embezzlers than Fagin's school did thieves. 
When a group of men gamble at a wheel of fortune 
or at a game of cards, the injury done is confined to 
them and to those immediately dependent upon them, 
but those who gamble in the grain pit or on the floor 
of the Stock Exchange deal in commodities or secu- 
rities in which eighty millions of people are directly 
or indirectly interested. Farm products are juggled 
up or juggled down, stocks are boosted by the bulls 
or depressed by the bears, and the whole country feels 
the effect. The natural laws of supply and demand 
ought to regulate prices but these laws are entirely 
suspended when a few men can by their bets add 
millions of dollars to the market value of one product 
or take millions of dollars from the value of another 
product. After a crusade which convulsed a state and 
at last impressed the thought of the nation, we got 
rid of the Louisiana lottery and then we congratulated 
ourselves upon our virtue. The men in charge of 
the lottery never did a tithe of the harm that the 
grain gamblers and the stock gamblers of New York 
do every day, nor did they ever exercise anything 
like the corrupting influences over politics. It has 
been asserted without denial that ninety-nine per cent 



316 THE REAL BRYAN 

of the New York purchases and sales of stock and 
of produce are merely bets upon the market value, 
with no intention on the part- of the vendor to deliver, 
or on the part of the purchaser to receive. This is 
not business; it is not commerce; it is not speculation; 
it is common, vulgar gambling, and when to the 
ordinary chances that the gambler takes are added 
the extraordinary chances due to the secret manipu- 
lation of the market by those who are on the inside, 
the stock market become worse than an honestly con- 
ducted gambling resort. If a man takes a chance 
upon a wheel of fortune, he knows just what his 
chance is, and he knows that the owner of the wheel 
has a percentage of chances in his favor, but when 
a stranger gambles upon the stock or grain market, 
he is at the mercy of those who, by obtaining control 
of the visible supply, can destroy every natural law 
or business rule which the outsider knows. While 
the laws of each state and the laws of the nation should 
prevent, as far as laws can, the use of these commer- 
cial activities for gambling purposes, there must be 
back of the law an educated public opinion, and I 
beg the spiritual advisers of our great cities to con- 
sider whether they cannot advance religion as well as 
morality by pointing out that the commandment 
'Thou shalt not steal" is openly and notoriously vio- 
lated in the stock market and in the grain pit by 
those who profess to believe in the Bible and to have 
respect for its teachings. 

If time permitted T would call attention to the 
adulteration of food which sometimes involves a vio- 



THE REAL BRYAN 317 

lation of the commandment against killing as well as 
the commandment against theft. 

But law finds its foundations in morals, and back of 
wrong doing is a false conception of life. I have not 
exhausted the field of illustration; I have not applied 
my text in all the multitude of ways in which it can 
be applied, but I shall conclude the discussion for 
this time by calling attention to the fundamental con- 
ception of life that more than anything else is respon- 
sible for the various forms of larceny to which I have 
referred. In our haste to make money we have culti- 
vated the impression that life is to be measured by its 
income and that men are worthy of respect in propor- 
tion as they have accumulated. If I were delivering 
a religious address I would insist that life tshould be 
measured by its overflow rather than by its income. 
I would insist that it is what we put into the world 
and not what we take out of it that determines the 
success of a life. But for the present I shall content 
myself with presenting an economic standard rather 
than a religious one and say that the only economic 
rule for accumulation is that one shall draw from 
society in proportion as he contributes to the welfare 
of society. Forms of government, methods of admin- 
istration and legislation all should have for their 
object the securing to each citizen of the rightful and 
legitimate rewards for his toil. Society cannot say to 
a man that he must as a matter of religious duty give 
more to society than he takes from society, nor can 
it without violation of individual rights say to a 
man that he must give to society more than he gets 



318 THE REAL BRYAN 

from society. The citizen owes a certain obligation 
to the government, and the government owes a certain 
obligation to the citizen, and these obligations are 
equally binding. The government can have no fav- 
ors; it cannot put the burdens upon some and offer 
the rewards to others. The best government is that 
which furnishes to each citizen the most perfect securi- 
ty against every arm uplifted for his injury and which, 
in so far as it enters upon a co-operative work, distrib- 
utes with equity both the burdens and the benefits of 
that co-operation. Perfection is not to be expected in 
government but the desire for perfection ought to 
control the citizen in his civic work as it controls him 
in his own life. Jefferson taught this conception of 
government when he insisted upon the maxim, ''equal 
rights to all and special privileges to none." Lincoln 
had this purpose of government in mind when he 
said at Gettysburg that those who assembled there 
should resolve that "a government of the people, by 
the people and for the people should not perish from 
the earth," and Jackson gave expression to the same 
thought when he said in one of his messages: 

^'Distinction in society will always exist under every 
just government. Equality of talents, of education or 
of wealth, cannot be produced by human institutions. 
In the full enjoyment of the gifts of Heaven and the 
fruits of superior industry, economy and virtue, every 
man is equally entitled to protection by law." 

''But when the laws undertake to add to those nat- 
ural and just advantages artificial distinctions — to 
grant titles, gratuities and exclusive privileges — to 



THE REAL BRYAN 319 

make the rich richer and the potent more powerful; 
the humble members of society — the farmers, mechan- 
ics and the laborers — who have neither the time nor 
the means of securing like favors for themselves, have 
a right to complain of the injustice of their govern- 
ment." 

The ''swollen fortunes," against which the President 
justly inveighs, almost without exception find their 
source in special privileges and in governmental favor- 
itism which legalize injustice; it is not strange that 
the ''humble members of society" complain, but it 
is strange that conscience does not more often restrain 
the "rich" and the "potent" from asking for such 
unfair advantages. 

The nearer we can make government conform to 
the divine plan, the nearer we shall approach justice, 
and according to the divine plan the reward should 
be proportioned to the industry and the intelligence 
with which one labors. With the great mass of man- 
kind this must remain the only basis of rewards, and 
those who in the pulpit, on the platform, through 
the press and in legislative halls assist in the creation 
of public opinion should labor in season and out of 
season to present an ideal of life that will make each 
individual as anxious to render faithful service to 
society as he is to draw an adequate compensation 
from society. 

The commandment: "Thou shalt not steal," will 
not have the weight that it ought to have among men 
until it is so construed as to bring the feeling of 
guilt and shame to those who draw from the common 



320 THE REAL BRYAN 

store more than they add in service. If we can but 
create a sentiment which wall make men ashamed, 
not only of wrong doing but of idleness as well, and 
lill them with an earnest desire to make generous 
return to society for all the blessings that society con- 
fers, it will be easier to prevent those varieties of lar- 
ceny w^hich are so difficult to define and which the 
officers of the law find it hard to detect and punish. 
[From an address delivered at Carnegie Hall, New 
York, February 4, 1908, under the auspices of the 
Civic Forum.l 



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